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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/throughbydaylighOOopt 


THE  LAKE   SHORE   SERIES. 


THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT; 


THE  YOUNG  ENGINEER 


LAKE     SHORE    RAILROAD. 


BY 


OLIVER    OPTIC, 

T3    AMERICA    ABROAD,"    "  THE    ARMY    A> 

iRRY  FLAG   SERIES,"    "  THE  WOODVILLE   i 

"THE  BOAT-CLUB  STORIES,"   ETC. 


AUTHOK    OF    "Y0CK3    AMERICA    ABROAD,"     "THE    ARMY    AND    NAVY    STORIESi 

"  THE   STARRY  FLAG   SERIES,"    "  THE  WOODVILLE   STORIES," 

"THE  BOAT-CLUB  STORIES,"   ETC. 


BOSTON : 

LEE    AND    SHEPARD,    PUBLISHERS. 

NEW  YORK: 

LEE,  SHEPARD  AND  DILLINGHAM. 

1873. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

WILLIAM    T.    ADAMS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


ELECTROTYPE!)     AT     THE 

BOSTON     STEREOTYPE      FOUNDRY, 

NO.   19   SPRING,    LANE. 


TO 

MY  YOUNG  FRIEND 
JAMES   ELLIOT  BAKER 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED. 


THE  LAKE   SHORE  SERIES. 


1.  THROUGH  BT  DAYLIGHT ;   or,  The  Young  Engineer 

of  the  Lake  Shore  Kailroad. 

2.  LIGHTNING   EXPRESS;    or,  The  Eival  Academies. 


3.  ON    TIME;    or,     The    Young    Captain    of    the    Ucayga 

Steamer. 

4.  SWITCH  OFF;   or,  The  War  of  the  Students. 

5.  BRAKE   UP;    or,  The  Young  Peacemakers. 

6.  BEAR  AND  FORBEAR;  or,  The  Young  Skipper  of  Lake 

Ucayga. 


PREFACE 


The  Lake  Shoee  Series,  of  which  this  book  is  the  first 
volume,  includes  six  stories,  whose  locality  and  principal 
characters  are  nearly  the  same,  and  which  were  originally  pub- 
lished in  Oliver  Optic's  Magazine,  Our  Boys  and  Girls.  The 
railroad,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  incidents  in  the  first  and 
second  volumes  was  suggested  by  the  experience  of  several 
young  gentlemen  in  Ohio,  who  had  formed  a  company,  and 
transacted  all  the  business  of  a  railroad  in  regular  form,  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  details' 
of  such  a  corporation.  They  issued  certificates  of  shares, 
bonds,  with  interest  coupons,  elected  officers,  and  appointed 
all  the  employees  required  for  the  management  of  a  well- 
ordered  railroad.  The  author  is  the  fortunate  possessor  of 
one  of  the  bonds  of  this  company  —  "  The  Miami  Valley 
Eailroad." 

The  young  engineer  is  doubtless  a  smart  boy;  but  so  far  as 
his  mechanical  skill  is  concerned,  several  counterparts  of  him 

(5) 


6  PREFACE. 

have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  'writer.  If  he  has  an 
"  old  head,"  he  has  a  young  heart,  which  he  endeavors  to 
keep  pure  and  true.  As  he  appears  in  this  and  the  subse- 
quent volumes  of  the  series,  the  author  is  willing  to  com- 
mend him  as  an  example  of  the  moral  and  Christian  hero, 
who  cannot  lead  his  imitators  astray;  for  he  loves  truth  and 
goodness,  and  is  willing  to  forgive  and  serve  his  enemies. 

Harbison  Square,  Mass., 

July  21,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

Me.  Waddie  Wimpleton .....11 


CHAPTER   II. 
A  Tremendous  Explosion 21 

CHAPTER    III. 
Wolf's  Father 32 

CHAPTER    IV. 
On  the  Locomotive 42 

CHAPTER   V. 
Christy  Holgate 52 

CHAPTER    VI. 
On  the  Locomotive 62 

CHAPTER    VII. 
The  Vial  of  Wrath 72 


0  COKTENTS. 

CHAPTEK     VIII. 
The  Dummy  Engine 83 

CHAPTER    IX. 

TOPPLETONIANS    AND    WlMPLETONIANS 94 

CHAPTER    X. 
Colonel  Wimpleton  and  Son 105 

CHAPTER    XI. 
Better  Thoughts  and  Deeds 116 

CHAPTER    XII. 
Wolf's  Fortress 127 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Captain  Stnders 138 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
Raising  the  Dummy 150 

CHAPTER    XV. 
Getting  up  Steam 161 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
The  Eirst  Trip  op  the  Dummy 172 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
Mother's  Advice 183 


CONTENTS.  y 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
Waddie's  Mistake 194 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Rich  Men's  Quarrels 205 

CHAPTER    XX. 
The  Beautiful  Passenger 216 

CHAPTER    XXI. 
Some  Talk  with  Colonel  Wimpleton 22 ? 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
The  Construction  Train ...     239 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 
Off  the  Track 251 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
The  Grand  Picnic 263 

CHAPTER    XXV. 
Wolf's  Speech 275 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
The  Auction  Sale 287 


THROUGH   BY    DAYLIGHT; 

OR, 

THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER    OF    THE    LAKE 
SHORE    RAILROAD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


MR.   WADDIE   WIHPLETON". 


POP,  pop,  pop,  pop,  pop,  pop  — six  pops. 
Mr.  Waddie  Wimpleton,  an  elegant  young 
gentleman  of  fifteen,  by  all  odds  the  nicest  young 
man  in  Centreport,  was  firing  at  a  mark  with  a  re- 
volver. It  was  a  very  beautiful  revolver,  too,  silver- 
mounted,  richly  chased,  and  highly  polished  in  all  its 
parts,  discharging  six  shots  at  each  revolution,  not 
often  at  the  target  in  the  unskilful  hands  of  Mr. 
Waddie,  but  sometimes  near  enough  to  indicate  what 
the  marksman  was  shooting  at. 
Even  the  target  was  quite  an  elaborate  affair ;  and 

(ii) 


12  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

though  Mr.  Waddie  had  been  shooting  -at  it  for  a 
week,  it  was  hardly  damaged  by  the  trial  to  which  it 
had  been  subjected.  It  was  two  feet  in  diameter, 
having  in  its  centre  a  tolerably  correct  resemblance 
of  one  of  the  optics  of  a  bovine  masculine ;  and  this 
enigma,  being  literally  interpreted,  meant  the  bull's 
eye,  which  Mr.  Waddie  was  expected  to  hit,  or  at  least 
to  try  to  hit.  Around  it  were  several  circles  in  black, 
red,  yellow,  green,  and  blue,  each  indicating  a  certain 
distance  from  the  objective  point  of  the  shooter. 
There  were  a  few  holes  in  the  target  within  these 
circles,  but  the  central  eye  was  not  put  out,  and  still 
glared  defiance  at  the  ambitious  marksman. 

Mr.  Waddie  Wimpleton  had  everything  he  wanted, 
and  therefore  never  wanted  anything  he  had.  There 
was  no  end  to  the  ponies,  sail-boats,  row-boats,  guns, 
pistols,  fishing-rods,  and  other  sporting  gear,  which 
came  into  his  possession,  and  of  which  he  soon  became 
weary.  His  father  was  as  rich  as  an  East  Indian 
prince,  and  Mr.  Waddie  being  an  only  son,  though 
there  were  two  daughters,  who  partially  "  put  his 
nose  out  of  joint,"  his  paternal  parent  had  labored 
industriously  to  spoil  the  child  from  babyhood.     I  am 


THE   YOUNG  ENGESTEEK.  13 

forced  to  acknowledge  that  he  succeeded  even  better 
than  he  intended. 

Mr.  Waddie  was  always  waiting  and  watching  for 
a  new  sensation.  A  magnificent  kite,  of  party-colored 
silk,  had  evidently  occupied  his  attention  during  the 
earlier  hours  of  the  morning,  and  it  now  lay  neglected 
on  the  ground,  the  line  stretched  off  in  the  direction 
of  the  lake.  The  young  gentleman  had  become  tired 
of  the  plaything,  and  when  I  approached  him  he  was 
blazing  away  at  the  target  with  the  revolver,  at  the 
rate  of  six  shots  in  three  seconds.  I  halted  at  a  re- 
spectful distance  from  the  marksman.  He  was  not 
shooting  at  me,  but  I  regarded  this  as  the  very  reason 
why  he  would  be  likely  to  hit  me.  If  he  had  been 
aiming  at  me,  I  should  have  approached  him  with 
more  confidence. 

Keeping  well  in  the  rear  of  the  young  gentleman,  I 
came  within  hailing  distance  of  him.  I  did  not  belong 
to  the  "Upper-ten"  of  Centreport,  and  I  could  not  be 
said  to  be  familiaily  acquainted  with  him.  My  father 
was  the  engineer  in  his  father's  steam-flouring  mills, 
and  a  person  of  my  humble  connections  was  of  no 
account    in    his    estimation.      But    I    am    forced    to 


14  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 


confess  that  I  had  not  that  awe  and  respect  for  Mr. 
Waddie  which  wealth  and  a  lofty  social  position  de- 
mand of  the  humble  classes.  I  had  the  audacity  to 
approach  the  young  scion  of  an  influential  house ;  and 
it  was  audacious,  considered  in  reference  to  his  pistol, 
if  not  to  his  social  position. 

Pop,  pop,  pop,  went  the  revolver  again,  as  I  placed 
myself  about  five  rods  in  his  rear,  feeling  tolerably 
safe  in  this  position.  When  he  had  fired  the  three 
shots,  he  stopped  and  looked  at  me.  I  could  not 
heljD  noticing  that  his  face  wore  an  unusual  aspect. 
Though  he  was  at  play,  engaged  in  what  would  have 
been  exceedingly  exciting  sport  to  a  boy  of  my  simple 
tastes,  he  did  not  appear  to  enjoy  it.  To  be  entirely 
candid,  he  looked  ugly,  and  seemed  to  have  no  in- 
terest whatever  in  his  game. 

Mr.  Waddie  Wimpleton  could  not  only  look  ugly, 
but  he  could  be  ugly  —  as  ugly  as  sin  itself.  Only 
the  day  before  he  had  been  concerned  in  an  awful 
row  on  board  of  a  canal  boat,  which  lay  .at  the  pier 
a  dozen  rods  from  the  spot  where  he  was  shooting. 
The  boat  had  brought  down  a  load  of  coal  for  the 
use  of  the  steam  mill,  and  having  discharged  her 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  15 

cargo,  was  waiting  till  a  fleet  should  be  gathered  of 
sufficient  numbers  to  employ  a  small  steamer  to  tow 
them  up  the  lake.  Mr.  Waddle  had  gone  on  board. 
The  owner's  family,  according  to  the  custom,  lived  in 
the  cabin,  and  the  young  gentleman  had  employed  his 
leisure  moments  in  teasing  the  skipper's  daughter,  a 
pretty  and  spirited  girl  of  his  own  age.  She  answered 
his  taunting  speech  with  so  much  vim  that  Mr.  Wad- 
die  got  mad,  and  absolutely  insulted  her,  using  lan- 
guage which  no  gentleman  would  use  in  the  presence 
of  a  female. 

At  this  point  her  father  interfered,  and  reproved  the 
nice  young  man  so  sharply,  and  withal  so  justly,  that 
Waddie's  wrath  turned  from  the  daughter  to  the 
parent,  and  in  his  anger  he  picked  up  a  piece  of  coal, 
and  hurled  it  at  the  honest  skipper's  head.  The 
latter,  being  the  independent  owner  and  master  of 
the  canal  boat,  and  also  an  American  citizen  with 
certain  unalienable  rights,  dodged  the  missile,  and 
resented  the  impudence  by  seizing  the  young  scion 
of  an  influential  house  by  the  collar  of  his  coat,  and 
after  giving  him  a  thorough  shaking,  much  to  the  dis- 
comfiture of  his  purple  aud  fine  linen,  threw  him  on 


16  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

the  pier,  very  much  as  a  Scotch  terrier  disposes  of  a 
rat  after  he  has  sufficiently  mauled  him. 

Mr.  Waddie  was  not  accustomed  to  this  sort  of 
treatment.  Whatever  he  did  in  Centreport,  and  es- 
pecially about  his  father's  estate  and  the  steam  mills, 
no  one  thought  of  opposing  him.  If  he  set  any  one's 
shed  on  fire,  shot  anybody's  cow,  or  did  other  mis- 
chief, the  only  remedy  was  to  carry  a  bill  of  damages 
to  the  young  gentleman's  father;  and  then,  though 
the  claim  was  for  double  the  value  of  the  cow  or  the 
shed,  the  fond  parent  paid  it  without  murmuring. 
No  one  had  ever  thought  of  taking  satisfaction  for 
injuries  by  laying  violent  hands  on  the  scion. 

But  the  worthy  captain  of  the  canal  boat,  though 
he  knew  Colonel  Wimpleton  very  well,  had  not 
learned  to  appraise  an  insult  to  him  or  his  family  in 
dollars  and  cents.  The  "  young  rascal,"  as  he  pro- 
fanely called  the  young  gentleman,  had  insulted  his 
daughter,  had  used  vile  and  unbecoming  language  to 
her,  and  if  he  had  had  a  cowhide  in  his  hand  at  the 
time,  he  would  have  used  it  unmercifully  upon  the 
soft  skin  of  the  dainty  scion.  He  had  no  weapon 
but  in  his  strong  arms.    Mr.  Waddie  had  been  made 

4 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  17 

to  feel  the  weight  of  his  muscle,  and  to  see  more 
stars  than  often  twinkled  over  the  tranquil  surface 
of  Lake  Ucayga. 

Perhaps,  if  the  indignant  skipper  of  the  canal  boat 
had  known  Mr.  Wadclie  better,  he  would  have  been 
disposed  to  moderate  his  wrath,  and  to  have  chosen 
a  less  objectionable  mode  of  chastising  his  victim; 
though  on  this  point  I  am  not  clear,  for  he  was 
an  American  citizen,  and  an  unprovoked  insult  to 
his  daughter  was  more  than  he  could  patiently 
endure. 

Mr.  Waddie  struck  the  pier  on  his  "beam  ends." 
I  beg  to  inform  my  readers  that  I  am  a  fresh-water 
sailor,  and  from  the  force  of  habit  sometimes  indulge 
in  salt  expressions.  In  the  rapid  evolutions  which 
he  had  been  compelled  to  make  under  the  energetic 
treatment  of  the  stalwart  skipper,  his  ideas  were 
considerably  "  mixed."  His  body  had  performed  so 
many  unwonted  and  involuntary  gyrations,  that  his 
muscles  and  limbs  had  been  twisted  into  an  aching 
condition.  Besides,  he  struck  the  planks,  whereof 
the  pier  was  composed,  so  heavily,  that  the  shock 
jounced  from  his  body  almost  all  the  breath  which 
2 


18  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

had  not  been  expended  in  the  gust  of  passion  pre- 
ceding the  final  catastrophe. 

The  scion  lay  on  the  pier  like  a  branch  detached 
from  the  parent  tree ;  for  if  he  realized  anything  in 
that  moment  of  defeat  and  disaster,  it  was  that  not 
even  his  father's  influence  had,  on  this  occasion,  saved 
him  from  deserved  retribution.  He  must  have  felt 
for  the  instant  like  one  alone  in  the  world.  Mr. 
Waddie  was  ugly,  as  I  have  before  suggested.  The 
dose  which  had  just  been  administered  to  him  need- 
ed to  be  repeated  many  times,  in  order  to  effect  a 
radical  cure  of  his  besetting  sin.  He  was  well  pun- 
ished, but  unfortunately  his  antecedents  had  not  been 
such  as  to  prepare  him  for  the  remedial  agency.  It 
did  him  no  good. 

Mr.  Waddie  lay  upon  the  pier  roaring  like  a  bull. 
According  to  the  legends  of  his  childhood,  some  one 
ought  to  come  and  pick  him  up ;  some  one  ought 
to  appear  and  mollify  his  rage,  by  promising  sum- 
mary vengeance  upon  the  "  naughty  man "  who  had 
upset  his  philosophy,  and  almost  riven  his  joints 
asunder.  But  no  one  came.  His  father  and  mother 
were   not  within  the  hearing  of  his  voice  —  no  one 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  19 

but  myself  and  the  irate  skipper  and  his  family. 
The  young  gentleman  lay  on  the  pier  and  roared. 
All  the  traditions  of  the  past  were  falsified,  for  no 
one  came  to  his  aid.  I  did  not  consider  it  my  duty 
to  meddle,  under  the  circumstances,  and  the  skipper 
would  sooner  have  shaken  him  again  than  undone 
the  good  deed  he  had  accomplished. 

As  no  one  came  to  comfort  him,  Mi\  Waddie 
roared  till  he  was  tired  of  roaring  —  till  the  breath 
came  back  to  his  body,  and  the  full  measure  of  I 
ugliness  came  back  to  his  mind.  He  got  up.  He 
walked  down  to  the  side  of  the  canal  boat,  where 
the  honest  captain  was  sitting  composedly  on  his 
stool.  Mr.  Waddie  stormed  furiously;  Mr.  Waddie 
even  swore  violently.  Mr.  Waddie  inquired,  in  heated 
tones,  if  the  honest  skipper  knew  who  he  was. 

The  honest  skipper  did  not  care  who  he  was.  He 
was  an  "  unlicked  cub."  No  man  or  boy  should  in- 
sult his  "  darter "  without  as  heavy  a  thrashing  as  he 
felt  able  to  give  him ;  and  if  the  young  gentleman 
gave  him  any  more  "  sarse,"  he  would  just  step 
ashore  and  dip  him  a  few  times  in  the  lake,  just  by 
way  of  cooling  his  heated  blood,  and  giving  him  a 
lesson  in  good  manners. 


20  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

Mr.  Waddie  had  already  tasted  the  quality  of  the 
skipper's  muscle,  and  he  slowly  retreated  from  the 
pier ;  but  as  he  went,  he  vowed  vengeance  upon  the 
author  of  his  disaster.  As  he  passed  the  spot  where 
I  was  stopping  a  leak  in  an  old  skiff  belonging  to 
my  father,  he  repeated  his  threats,  and  I  felt  confi- 
dent at  the  time  that  Mr.  Waddie  intended  to  an- 
nihilate the  honest  skipper  at  the  first  convenient 
opportunity. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  21 


CHAPTER  II. 


A   TREMENDOUS    EXPLOSION. 


"R.  WADDIE    fired   three    shots  from  his  re- 
volver, and   then  turned  to  look  at  me ;   and 
he  looked  ugly. 

My  father's  house  was  near  the  spot.  I  had  been 
planting  peas  in  the  garden  all  the  morning,  and  I 
had  observed  that  the  young  gentleman  was  un- 
usually steadfast  in  his  occupations.  He  had  raised 
his  kite,  and  kept  it  up  for  half  an  hour.  Then  he 
had  fastened  the  string  to  the  target,  and  "run  it 
down."  Occasionally  I  glanced  at  him  to  see  what 
he  was  about.  After  he  had  brought  the  kite  down, 
I  saw  him  bringing  it  up  to  the  target.  Then  he 
went  on  board  of  the  canal  boat  at  the  pier.  The 
honest  skipper  had  locked  up  the  cabin,  and  gone 
with  his  family  to  visit  his  relations  at  Ruoara,  eight 
miles  below  Centreport. 


22  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

Mr.  Wadclie  appeared  to  be  making  himself  at 
home  on  board.  He  went  down  into  the  hold,  and 
remained  there  a  considerable  time.  After  the  sav- 
age threats  I  had  heard  him  make  the  day  before, 
it  would  not  have  surprised  me  to  see  the  flames 
rising  from  the  honest  skipper's  craft ;  but  nothing 
of  this  kind  had  yet  occurred,  though  I  was  fully 
satisfied  that  the  scion  was  plotting  mischief.  After 
he  had  been  on  board  half  an  hour,  he  returned  to 
the  target,  and  popped  away  a  while  at  it,  though, 
as  I  have  before  observed,  he  did  not  seem  to  take 
any  particular  interest  in  the  amusement. 

On  this  day  the  flour  mills  were  not  at  work, 
having  suspended  operations  to  put  in  a  new  boiler. 
After  everything  was  ready  for  it,  the  boiler  did  not 
arrive,  and  all  hands  were  obliged  to  take  a  vaca- 
tion, to  await  its  coming.  The  mill  was,  therefore, 
deserted,  and  my  father  had  a  little  time  to  attend 
to  his  own  affairs.  He  was  going  down  to  TJcayga, 
at  the  foot  of  the  lake,  upon  business,  which  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  explain  by  and  by.  He  had  gone 
up  to  the  town,  and  as  he  had  given  me  permission 
to  go  with  him,  I  was  to  meet  him  at  the  steamboat 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  23 

landing.  I  was  on  my  way  to  this  point  when  I 
paused  to  observe  Mr.  Waddie's  shooting. 

A  revolver  is  a  very  pretty  toy  for  a  boy  of  fif- 
teen. My  father  would  as  soon  have  thought  of 
giving  me  a  live  rattlesnake  for  a  pet,  as  a  pistol 
for  a  plaything.  At  the  same  time,  I  understood 
and  appreciated  the  instrument,  and  should  have 
been  proud  and  happy  as  the  possessor  of  it.  Mr. 
Waddle,  in  one  of  his  gracious  moments,  had  per- 
mitted me  to  fire  this  pistol,  and  I  flattered  myself 
that  I  could  handle  it  much  better  than  he.  He 
never  did  anything  well,  and  therefore  he  did  not 
shoot  well.  As  I  stood  there,  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance, admiring  the  splendid  weapon,  I  envied  him 
the  fun  which  might  be  got  out  of  it,  though  I  was 
very  sure  he  did  not  make  the  most  of  it. 

He  suspended  his  operations,  and  looked  at  me. 
I  hoped  he  was  going  to  give  me  an  invitation  to 
shoot ;  and  I  felt  that,  if  he  did,  I  could  soon  spoil 
the  enigmatical  eye  that  glared  at  the  shooter  from 
the  target. 

"What  do  you  want,  Wolf?"  said  he. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  nece&sary  for  me  to  explain  that 


24  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

I  was  not  actually  a  wolf;  but  it  is  necessary  for 
me  to  say  that  this  savage  appellation  was  the  name 
by  which  I  was  usually  known  and  called  in  Cen- 
treport.  My  father's  name  was  Ralph  Penniruan, 
and  at  the  time  I  was  born  he  lived  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson.  He  had  taken  such  a  strong  fancy 
for  some  of  the  creations  of  Washington  Irving,  that 
he  insisted,  in  spite  of  an  earnest  protest  on  the 
part  of  my  mother,  upon  calling  me  Wolfert,  after 
one  of  the  distinguished  author's  well-known  char- 
acters, who  obtained  a  great  deal  of  money  where 
he  least  expected  to  find  it.  In  vain  my  mother 
pleaded  that  the  only  possible  nickname  —  in  a  land 
where  nicknames  were  as  inevitable  as  the  baby's 
teeth  —  would  be  Wolf.  My  father  continued  to 
insist,  having  no  particular  objection  to  the  odious 
name.  I  was  called  Wolfert,  and  I  shall  be  Wolf 
as  long  as  I  live;  perhaps,  after  I  die,  if  the  width 
of  my  tomb-stone  compels  the  lapidary  to  abbreviate 
my  name. 

« What  do  you  want,  Wolf? "  asked  Mr.  Waddie, 
in  a  surly  tone,  which  led  me  to  think  that  I  was 
an  intruder. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  25 

"  Nothing,"  I  replied ;  and  knowing  how  easy  it 
was  to  get  up  a  quarrel  with  the  scion,  I  began  to 
move  on. 

"  Come  here ;  I  want  you,"  added  Mr.  Waddie, 
in  a  tone  which  seemed  to  leave  no  alternative  but 
obedience. 

"I  can't.  I  have  to  go  to  the  steamboat  wharf," 
I  ventured  to  suggest. 

"  O,  come  here  —  will  you  ?  I  won't  keep  you 
but  a  minute." 

Mr.  Waddie  was  almost  invariably  imperious ;  but 
now  he  used  a  coaxing  tone,  which  I  could  not 
resist.  I  could  not  help  seeing  that  there  was  some- 
thing about  him  which  was  strange  and  unnatural 
—  a  forced  expression  and  manner,  that  it  bothered 
me  to  explain.  If  the  young  gentleman  was  en- 
gaged in  any  mischief,  he  was  sufficiently  accus- 
tomed to  it  to  do  without  any  of  the  embarrassment 
which  distinguished  his  present  demeanor.  But  I 
could  not  see  anything  wrong,  and  he  did  not  ap- 
pear to  be  engaged  in  any  conspiracy  against  the 
canal  boat,  or  the  honest  skipper  in  command  of 
it.      Appearances,   however,    are    often  delusive,   and 


26  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

they  could  hardly  be  otherwise,  when  Mr.  Waddie 
attempted  to  look  amiable  and  conciliatory. 

"You  are  a  good  fellow,  Wolf,"  he  added. 

I  knew  that  before,  and  the  intelligence  was  no 
news  to  me ;  yet  the  condescension  of  the  scion  was 
marvellous  in  the  extreme,  and  I  wondered  what 
was  going  to  happen,  quite  sure  that  something 
extraordinary  was  about  to  transpire. 

"  What  do  you  want  of  me,  Waddie  ? "  I  asked, 
curiously. 

"  I'm  going  up  to  the  steamboat  wharf,  and  I  want 
you  to  help  me  wind  up  my  kite-line,"  he  added, 
bustling  about  as  though  he  meant  what  he  said. 

"  How  came  your  kite-line  over  there  when  your 
kite  is  up  here  ?  " 

"O,  I  untied  it,  and  brought  it  up  here  so  as  not 
to  tear  the  kite  —  that's  all.  Take  hold  of  the 
string  and  pull  it  in." 

I  picked  up  the  line.  As  I  did  so,  Mr.  Wacldie 
gave  a  kind  of  start,  and  held  his  elbow  up  at  the 
side  of  his  head.  But  I  did  not  pull  on  the  line, 
for,  to  tell  the  honest  truth,  I  was  afraid  be  was  up 
to  some  trick. 


THE   YOUHG  ENGINEEK.  27 

"  Why  don't  you  haul  it  in,  you  fool  ? "  demanded 
Waddie,  with  more  excitement  than  the  occasion 
seemed  to  require. 

"  I  can't  stop  to  wind  it  up,  Waddie ;  I'm  in  a 
hurry.     My  father  is  waiting  for  me  up  at  the  wharf." 

"  It  won't  take  but  a  couple  of  minutes ;  pull  in, 
and  I'll  give  you  three  shots  with  this  revolver,"  he 
added. 

"I  can't  stay  to  fire  the  shots  now." 

"  Yes,  you  can !  Come,  pull  in,  and  don't  be  all 
day  about  it,"  continued  he,  impatiently. 

I  was  almost  sure  he  was  up  to  some  trick;  he 
was  earnest  and  excited.  The  longer  I  staid,  the 
worse  it  would  be  for  me,  and  I  dropped  the  string. 

"  Pick  it  up  again ! "  shouted  Waddie ;  and  at  the 
same  moment  he  fired  off  the  pistol. 

I  did  pick  it  up;  for  though  the  pistol  ball  did 
not  come  very  near  me,  I  heard  it  whistle  through 
the  air,  and  as  I  had  never  been  under  -fire,  I  am 
willing  to  confess  that  it  frightened  me.  I  do  not 
think  Waddie  meant  to  hit  me  when  he  fired,  but 
this  consciousness  made  me  all  the  more  fearful  for 
my  own  safety. 


28  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

"Now,   pull    in,   you   ninny!      If  you  don't  mind 
when    your    betters    speak    to    you,  I'll   put    one  of 
these  bullets  into  you." 
•  "Do  you  mean  to  kill  me,  Waddie?"  I  asked. 

"  No,  not  if  you  mind  what  I  say  to  you." 

"But  I  tell  you  my  father  is  waiting  for  me  at 
the  steamboat  wharf." 

"  No  matter  if  he  is ;  he's  paid  for  waiting  when 
I  want  you.      Why  don't  you   pull  in  ?  " 

I  don't  know  exactly  why  I  did  not  pull  in.  He 
threatened  to  shoot  me,  on  the  one  hand,  if  I  didn't 
pull  in,  and  I  felt  as  though  something  would  happen, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  I  did  pull  in.  It  was  not  im- 
probable to  me,  just  then,  that  the  young  scion  had 
planted  a  torpedo  in  the  ground,  which  was  to  be 
touched  off  by  pulling  the  string,  and  which  was  to 
send  me  flying  up  into  the  air.  I  would  have  given 
something  handsome,  at  that  moment,  for  ten  rods 
of  space  between  me  and  the  imperative  young 
scion  at  my  side. 

"  Why  don't  you  pull  ? "  yelled  he,  out  of  patience 
with  me  at  last. 

Springing  forward,  he  grasped   the  string  which  I 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  29 

then  held  in  my  hand,  and  gave  it  a  smart  jerk,  at 
the  same  time  pointing  the  revolver  at  my  head,  as 
if  to  prevent  my  sudden  departure.  The  pulling  of 
the  kite-string  more  than  realized  my  expectations. 
The  very  earth  was  shaken  beneath  me,  and  the 
lake  trembled  under  the  shock  that  followed.  High 
in  air,  from  the  pier,  a  dozen  rods  distant,  rose,  in 
ten  thousand  fragments,  the  canal  boat  of  the  honest 
skipper.  By  some  trickery,  which  I  could  not  under- 
stand, the  gayly-painted  craft  had  been  blown  up 
by  the  pulling  of  that  kite-string. 

I  could  not  see  through  it  ;  in  fact,  I  was  so 
utterly  confounded  by  the  noise,  smoke,  and  dust 
of  the  explosion,  that  I  did  not  try  to  see  through 
it.  I  was  amazed  and  confused,  bewildered  and 
paralyzed.  The  fragments  of  the  boat  had  been 
scattered  in  a  shower  upon  us,  but  none  of  them 
were  large  enough  to  do  us  any  serious  injury. 

My  first  thought  was  a  sentiment  of  admiration 
at  the  diabolical  ingenuity  of  Mr.  "Waddle.  It  was 
clear  enough  now  that  this  was  the  revenge  of  the 
young  gentleman  upon  the  skipper  for  the  punish- 
ment he  had  inflicted  upon  him.     By  some  contri- 


30  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

vance,  not  yet  explained,  the  young  reprobate  had 
ignited  a  quantity  of  powder,  placed  in  the  hold  of 
the  boat,  with  the  kite-line.  The  honest  skipper 
seemed  to  be  the  victim   now. 

"  Now  see  what  you  have  done !  "  exclaimed  Mr. 
Waddie,  when  he,  as  well  as  I,  had  in  some  measure 
recovered  from  the  shock. 

"I  didn't  do  it,"  I  replied,  indignantly. 

"  Yes,  you  did,  you  fool !  Didn't  you  pull  the 
string  ?  " 

"  Not  much !  You  pulled  it  yourself,"  I  pro- 
tested. 

"  At  any  rate,  we  are  both  of  us  in  a  very  sweet 
scrape." 

"  I'm  not  in  it ;  I  didn't  know  anything  about  it, 
and  I'm  not  going  to  stay  here  any  longer,"  I 
retorted,  moving  off. 

"  Stop,  Wolf! " 

He  pointed  the  pistol  at  me  again.  I  had  had 
about  enough  of  this  sort  of  thing,  and  I  walked 
back  to  him. 

"  Now,  Wolf,  if  you  want  to  —  " 

I  did  not  wait  for  him  to  say  any  more.     Choos- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  31 

ing  my  time,  I  sprang  upon  him,  wrested  the  pistol 
from  his  grasp,  threw  him  over  backwards,  and 
made  good  my  retreat  to  a  grove  near  the  spot, 
just  as  the  people  were  hurrying  down  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  the  explosion. 


32  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OK 


CHAPTER  HI. 


WOLF  S   FATHER. 


finHE  grove  into  which  I  had  retreated  was  on 
-JL  the  border  of  Colonel  Wimpleton's  estate,  and 
in  its  friendly  covert  I  made  my  way  to  the  road 
which  led  to  the  steamboat  wharf.  I  put  the  pistol 
into  my  breast  pocket,  intending,  of  course,  to  give 
it  back  to  Waddie  when  I  saw  him  again.  Just  then 
I  heard  the  whistle  of  the  steamer,  and  hastened  to 
the  pier. 

I  was  now  far  enough  away  from  the  scene  of  the 
explosion  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  suspicious  cir- 
cumstances, and  I  had  an  opportunity  to  consider 
my  relations  to  the  startling  event  which  had  just 
transpired.  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  whether 
Mr.  Waddie  had  been  afraid  to  pull  the  string  which 
was  to  produce  the  blow-up,  or  whether  he  wished  to 
implicate  me  in  the  affair.     If  he  had  not  been  utter- 


THE   YOTTNG   ENGINEER.  33 

ly  wanting  in  all  the  principles  of  boy-honor,  I  should 
not  have  suspected  him  of  the  latter.  I  could  not 
attribute  his  conduct  to  a  lack  of  brute  courage,  for 
he  had  finally  pulled  the  string,  though  it  was  in  my 
hands  at  the  time  he  did  so.  But  it  was  of  no  great 
consequence  what  his  motives  were.  I  had  taken 
no  part  in  the  blowing  up  of  the  honest  skipper's 
boat,  and  did  not  know  what  the  programme  was 
until  the  explosion  came  off.  I  felt  that  I  was  all 
right,  therefore,  especially  as  I  had  escaped  from  the 
spot  without  being  seen  by  any  one. 

After  the  catastrophe  had  occurred,  Waddie  had 
rudely  asked  me  to  see  what  I  had  done.  I  had 
taken  the  trouble  to  deny  my  own  personal  agency 
in  the  affair,  but  he  had  finally  insisted  that  I  pulled 
the  string.  This  indicated  a  purpose  on  his  part.  1 
was  in  some  manner  mixed  up  in  the  matter;  but, 
as  I  had  no  grudge  against  the  honest  skipper,  I 
could  not  see  why  any  person  should  be  willing  to 
believe  Waddie,  even  if  he  did  declare  that  I  was 
engaged  in  the  mischief.  But  above  and  beyond  all 
other  considerations,  I  felt  that  I  was  not  guilty, 
and  it  was  not  proper  that  an  honest  young  man 
8 


34  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

like  me  should  bother  his  head  about  contingencies, 
and  situations,  and  suspicions.  It  was  enough  to  be 
free  from  guilt,  and  I  was  content  to  let  the  appear? 
ances  take  care  of  themselves. 

I  found  my  father  on  the  pier  when  I  arrived. 
He  was  dressed  in  his  best  clothes,  and  looked  like 
the  solid,  substantial  man  that  he  was.  He  could 
not  very  well  be  genteel  in  his  appearance,  for  the 
smoke  and  oil  of  his  occupation  clung  to  him,  even 
when  he  wore  his  holiday  suit.  I  have  noticed  that 
men  of  his  calling  —  and  my  own  for  some  years  — 
find  it  almost  if  not  quite  impossible  to  get  rid  of  a 
certain  professional  aspect  which  clings  to  them.  I 
have  almost  always  been  able  to  tell  an  engineer 
when  I  see  one.  There  is  something  in  the  calling 
which  goes  with  the  man  wherever  he  goes. 

Though  my  father  was  not,  and  could  not  be,  gen- 
teel, I  was  not  ashamed  of  him.  On  the  contrary, 
I  was  very  proud  of  him,  and  proud  of  the  profes- 
sional asjsect  he  wore.  His  look  and  manner  had  a 
savor  of  engines  and  machinery,  which  I  tried  to 
obtain  for  myself.  When  I  was  going  to  have  any 
new  clothes,  I  always  insisted  that  they  should   be 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  35 

blue,  because  my  father  never  wore  any  other  color ; 
and  I  used  to  think,  though  I  had  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  steeped  in  oil  and  smoke,  that  I  was  not 
very  unlike  an  engineer. 

Having  acknowledged  the  possession  of  this  pride 
of  occupation,  I  ought  to  explain  where  I  got  it. 
It  was  not  a  mere  vanity  with  me,  for  I  desired  to 
look  like  an  engineer  because  I  was  one.  My  father 
and  mother  had  been  good  parents  to  me,  and  had 
proper  notions  in  regard  to  my  present  and  future 
welfare.  I  was  sixteen  years  old,  and  had  been  at 
school  all  the  time,  summer  and  winter,  until  the 
spring  of  the  year  in  which  my  story  opens.  I  do 
not  like  to  be  egotistical,  but  I  must  say  —  since 
there  is  no  one  else  to  say  it  for  me  —  that  I  was 
considered  a  very  good  scholar.  I  had  just  grad- 
uated at  the  Wimpleton  Institute,  where  I  had 
taken  a  high  rank.  I  had  particularly  distinguished 
myself  in  natural  philosophy  and  chemistry,  because 
these  studies  were  nearer  to  my  heart  than  any 
other. 

I  was  my  father's  only  boy,  and  he  had  always 
manifested  a  peculiar  interest  in   me.    Even   before 


36  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

I  was  old  enough  to  go  to  school,  while  we  lived 
on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  my  father  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  me  into  the  engine-room  with  him. 
I  used  to  ask  him  hundreds  of  childish  questions 
about  the  machinery,  whose  answers  I  was  not  old 
enough  to  understand ;  but,  as  I  grew  in  years  and 
mental  power,  the  questions  were  repeated,  and  so 
carefully  explained,  that  before  I  ever  read  a  de- 
scription of  the  steam  engine,  I  had  a  very  tolerable 
idea  of  the  principles  upon  which  it  was  constructed, 
and  knew  its  mechanical  structure. 

When  I  was  old  enough  to  read  and  understand 
books,  the  steam  engine  became  the  study  of  my 
life.  I  not  only  studied  its  philosophy  in  school, 
but  my  father  had  quite  a  little  library  of  books 
relating  to  the  subject,  which  I  had  read  a  great 
many  times,  and  whose  contents  I  had  considered 
with  the  utmost  care.  A  large  portion  of  my  spare 
time  was  spent  in  the  engine-room  at  the  mills.  I 
had  even  run  the  machine  for  a  week  when  my 
father  was  sick. 

I  had  gone  farther  than  this  in  the  study  of  my 
favorite  theme.    As  an  engineer,  my  father  was  well 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  37 

acquainted  with  all  of  the  men  of  the  same  calling 
in  the  steamboats  on  the  lake,  and  with  some  of 
them  on  the  locomotives  which  ran  on  the  railroad 
through  Ucayga,  at  the  foot  of  the  lake.  When 
our  family  paid  a  visit  to  our  former  residence  on 
the  Hudson,  I  rode  on  the  engine  all  the  way,  and 
made  a  practical  study  of  the  locomotive.  I  flat- 
tered myself  I  could  run  the  machine  as  well  as 
the  best  of  them.  Christy  Holgate  was  the  engi- 
neer  of  the  steamer  now  coming  up  to  the  pier,  and 
under  his  instruction  I  had  mastered  the  mysteries 
of  the  marine  engine,  with  which  I  was  already  ac- 
quainted in  theory,  after  much  study  of  the  subject 
in  the  books. 

I  did  not  pretend  to  know  anything  but  the 
steam  engine,  and  I  thought  I  understood  that 
pretty  well.  My  father  thought  so  too,  which  very 
much  strengthened  my  confidence  in  my  own  abil- 
ity. I  am  sorry  I  have  not  some  one  else  to  tell 
my  story  for  me,  for  it  is  very  disagreeable  to  feel 
obliged  to  say  so  much  about  myself.  I  hope  my 
friends  will  not  think  ill  of  me  on  this  account, 
for  they  will  see  that  I  can't  help  saying  it,  for  my 


38  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

story  -would  seern  monstrously  improbable  without 
this   explanation. 

"Wolf,  what  was  that  noise  down  by  the  mill, 
a  little  while  ago?"  asked  my  father,  as  I  joined 
him  at  the  wharf. 

"  The  canal  boat  at  the  mill  pier  was  blown  up," 
I  replied,  with  some  embarrassment. 

"  Blown  up ! "   exclaimed  he. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"They  were  blowing  rocks  back  of  the  mill,  and 
I  thought  they  must  have  set  off  a  seam-blast;  but 
the  noise  did  not  seem  to  be  in  the  direction  of  the 
quarry.  I  don't  see  how  the  canal  boat  could  have 
blown  up.  It  wasn't  the  water  that  blew  her  up. 
Do  you  know  anything  about  it,  Wolf?" 

"Yes,  sir;  I  know  a  good  deal  more  about  it  than 
I  wish  I  did,"  I  answered,  for  my  father  had  always 
been  fair  and  square  with  me,  and  I  should  as  soon 
have  thought  of  cutting  off  my  own  nose  as  telling 
him  a  falsehood. 

"What  do  you  know,  Wolf?"  he  asked,  with  a 
look  which  betokened  a  rather  painful  interest  in 
the  nature  of  the  answer.  "  I  hope  there  wan't  any 
mischief  about  it." 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  39 

"It  was  all  mischief." 

"Who  did  it?     Not  you,  I  hope." 

"No,  sir;  I  did  not  know  anything  about  it  till 
the  boat  blew  up.     Waddie  Wimpleton  did  it." 

"Of  course  he  did,"  said  my  father,  nodding  his 
head  significantly.     "  Did  you  see  him  do  it  ?  " 

In  reply  I  told  the  whole  story,  after  we  had 
gone  on  board  of  the  steamer,  giving  every  par- 
ticular as  minutely  as  though  I  had  been  a  witness 
in  a  murder  trial. 

"I  heard  Waddie  had  had  a  row  with  the  cap- 
tain of  the  canal  boat,"  added  my  father,  who  seemed 
to  be  vexed  and  disturbed  more  than  I  thought  the 
occasion  required,  as  he  could  not  but  see  that  I 
had  no  guilty  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy.  "  The 
young  rascal  must  have  stolen  the  powder  to  be 
used  for  blasting.  Well,  his  father  can  pay  the 
damages,  as  he  has  done  a  hundred  times  before ; 
and  I  suppose  it  will  be  all  right  then." 

We  went  into  the  engine-room,  and  took  seats 
with  Christy  Holgate,  who  manifested  no  little  in- 
terest in  the  affair  of  the  morning. 

"  The  little  villain  intends  to  have  you  mixed  up 


40  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

in  the  scrape  somehow,  Wolf,"  continued  my  father, 
who  could  not  turn  his  attention  from  the  subject. 

"I  don't  care  if  he  does.  I  didn't  do  anything, 
and  I'm  willing  to  face  the  music,"  I  replied,  confi- 
dently. "  I  took  his  pistol  away  from  him  to  keep 
him  from  shooting  me ;  but  I  mean  to  give  it  back 
to  him  as  soon  as  we  return." 

"  I  hope  it  will  be  all  right,  "Wolf,"  said  my  father, 
anxiously. 

"Your  boy  ain't  to  blame,  Ralph,"  added  Christy, 
the  engineer. 

"  I  know  he  isn't ;  but  Colonel  Wimpleton  is  the 
worst  man  to  get  along  with  in  the  world  when 
Waddie  gets  into  a  scrape  with  other  boys.  He 
thinks  the  little  villain  is  an  angel,  and  if  he  ever 
does  any  mischief  he  is  led  away  by  bad  boys. 
Well,  no  matter;  I  am  glad  this  thing  takes  place 
to-day  instead  of  last  week." 

"Why  so,  father?"   I  asked. 

"Don't  you  know  what  I  am  going  up  to  Ucayga 
for,  this  morning  ?  " 

"  No,  sir;  I  haven't  heard." 

"Well,  I  talked  it  over  long  enough  with  your 
mother  this  morning." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  41 

"  I  wasn't  there." 

"I'll  tell  you,  Wolf,"  replied  my  father,  throwing 
one  leg  over  the  other,  and  looking  particularly  well 
satisfied  with  himself  and  all  the  rest  of  mankind. 
"When  we  first  went  to  Centreport,  I  bought  the 
place  we  live  on  of  Colonel  Wimpleton.  I  gave 
him  one  thousand  down,  and  a  note,  secured  by 
mortgage,  for  two  thousand  more.  I  think  the 
place,  to-day,  is  worth  four  thousand  dollai-s." 

"  All  of  that,"  added  Christy. 

"  Well,  I've  been  saving  up  all  my  spare  money 
ever  since  to  pay  off  that  mortgage,  which  expires 
next  week.  I  have  got  the  whole  amount,  and  four 
hundred  dollars  more,  in  the  bank  at  Ucayga,  and 
I'm  going  to  take  it  out  to-day,  and  pay  up.  That's 
what's  the  matter,  Wolf;  but  I  don't  quite  like  this 
row  with  Waddie." 

Christy  listened  with  quite  as  much  interest  as  I 
did  to  the  story  of  my  father. 


42  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ON   THE   LOCOMOTIVE. 


AFTER  we  had  sufficiently  discussed  the  explo- 
sion and  my  father's  financial  affairs,  Christy 
Holgate  took  from  under  the  seat  where  he  sat 
a  curiously-shaped  black  bottle  and  a  tumbler.  I 
would  rather  have  seen  him  take  a  living  rattlesnake 
from  the  box,  and  place  it  at  my  feet  —  or  rather  at 
my  father's  feet,  for  it  was  on  his  account  that  I 
shuddered  when  I  heard  the  owner  of  the  bottle  de- 
clare that  it  contained  "  old  rye  whiskey."  Christy 
told  a  tedious  story  about  the  contents  of  this  "  vial 
of  wrath"  —  where  it  was  distilled  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky;  how  a  particular  friend  of  his  had  pro- 
cured two  quarts  of  it,  and  no  more  of  that  year's 
manufacture  could  be  had  in  the  whole  nation,  either 
for  love  or  for  money. 

One  would  have  supposed,  from  the  eloquent  de- 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  43 

scription  of  its  virtues,  that  it  was  the  nectar  of  the 
gods,  instead  of  the  fiery  fluid  which  men  put  into 
their  mouths  to  take  their  brains  away.  I  was  dis- 
gusted with  the  description,  and  I  shuddered  the 
more  when  I  saw  that  my  father  was  interested  in 
it,  and  that  he  cast  longing  glances  at  the  queer- 
shaped  bottle.  I  had  heard  that  my  father  lost  his 
situation  at  the  town  on  the  Hudson  by  drinking  to 
excess,  and  I  trembled  lest  the  old.  appetite  should  be 
revived  in  him.  If  he  had  been  a  man  like  Christy 
Holgate  I  should  not  have  trembled,  as  I  viewed 
the  case,  for  he  had  drank  liquor  "all  his  lifetime  in 
moderation,  and  no  one  had  ever  known  him  to 
be  intoxicated.  It  was  not  so  with  my  father.  He 
had  struggled  manfully  against  the  insidious  appe- 
tite, and  with  only  a  couple  of  exceptions,  he  had 
always  done  so  successfully.  Twice,  and  twice  only, 
had  he  been  under  the  influence  of  liquor  since  he 
came  to  Centreport.  I  feared,  if  he  tasted  the  con- 
tents of  the  strange-looking  bottle,  that  the  third 
time  would  have  to  be  added  to  the  list. 

Christy  poured  out  a  glass  of  the  "  old  rye,"  and 
my  father  drank  it.     The  engineer  .of  the  boat  took 


44  THROUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

one  himself;  and  both  of  them  talked  very  fast  then 
till  the  steamer  arrived  at  her  destination.  I  was 
alarmed  for  my  father's  safety,  and  I  tried  to  induce 
him  to  go  on  shore  the  moment  we  reached  the 
wharf;  but  before  we  could  leave  Christy  produced 
the  bottle  again,  and  both  of  them  took  a  second 
dram,  though  I  noticed  that  the  engineer  took  a 
very  light  one  himself. 

The  effect  upon  my  father  was  soon  apparent, 
though  he  did  not  appear  to  be  actually  intoxicated. 
He  did  not  stagger,  but  he  talked  in  a  loud  and 
reckless  manner.  He  gave  me  a  dollar,  and  told  me 
to  spend  it  for  anything  I  wanted.  He  said  it  was 
a  holiday,  and  he  wished  me  to  have  a  good  time. 
I  put  the  dollar  in  my  pocket,  but  I  did  not  leave 
my  father.  I  was  mortified  by  his  blustering  speech 
and  extravagant  manner,  but  I  still  clung  to  him. 
I  hoped  my  presence  would  prevent  him  from  tak- 
ing another  dram ;  and  I  think  it  did ;  for  though, 
on  our  way  to  the  bank,  we  passed  several  bar- 
rooms, he  did  not  offer  to  enter  one  of  them.  Two 
or  three  times  he  hinted  to  me  that  I  had  better 
go  and   enjoy  myself  alone,  which  assured   me  that 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  45 

he  desired  to  drink  again,  but  did  not  wish  to  do 
so  before  me. 

I  have  since  learned  that  a  man  will  always  be 
more  circumspect  before  his  children  than  when 
away  from  them.  He  feels  his  responsibility  at 
such  times,  and  is  unwilling  to  degrade  himself 
before  those  who  are  his  natural  dependants.  I  told 
my  father  I  had  no  place  to  go  to,  that  I  did  not 
wish  to  buy  anything,  and  that  I  preferred  to  re- 
main with  him.  He  was  vexed  at  my  obstinacy,  but 
he  did  not  say  anything.  We  went  to  the  bank 
together,  and  he  drew  out  his  money,  twenty-four 
hundred  dollars  —  more  than  he  had  ever  possessed 
at  one  time  before.  It  would  discharge  the  mort- 
gage on  the  place,  and  leave  him  four  hundred 
dollars  to  make  certain  improvements  which  he 
contemplated. 

The  whiskey  which  he  had  drank  made  him  feel 
rich,  and  it  pained  me  to  see  him  manifest  his  feel' 
ings  in  a  very  ridiculous  way.  He  put  the  moneji 
in  a  great  leather  pocket-book  he  carried,  and  placed 
it  in  his  breast  pocket.  By  various  little  devices  I 
induced    him    to    return    to    the    steamer  with   me. 


46  THEOUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

When  it  was  too  late  I  was  sorry  I  had  done  so, 
for  Christy  Holgate  again  placed  the  bottle  to  his 
lips,  taking  hardly  a  tea-spoonful  of  its  contents 
himself.  It  would  be  an  hour  befoi*e  the  train  ar- 
rived, whose  passengers  the  steamer  was  to  convey 
up  the  lake,  and  I  trembled  for  the  safety  of  my 
father  and  of  the  large  sum  of  money  he  had  in 
his  pocket. 

It  seems  very  strange  to  me,  and  I  dare  say  it 
has  seemed  so  to  others,  that  some  men,  when  they 
have  the  greatest  work  of  their  lifetime  in  hand, 
or  are  pressed  down  by  the  heaviest  responsibility 
that  ever  weighed  upon  them,  choose  this  very  time 
to  get  intoxicated.  My  father  had  certainly  clone 
so.  With  more  than  two  thirds  of  his  worldly 
wealth  in  his  pocket,  he  had  taken  to  drinking 
whiskey  —  a  thing  he  had  not  done  before  for  at 
least  a  year.  Half  of  the  hour  we  had  to  wait 
had  passed  away,  and  my  poor  father  made  himself 
very  ridiculous.  I  had  never  felt  so  bad  before  in 
my  life. 

"Wolf,  my  boy,  I  forgot  to  get  my  tobacco  when 
I  was  up  in  town,"  said  he,  handing  me  a  quarter. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  47 

"Run  up  to  that  store  next  to  the  hotel,  and  get 
me  half  a  pound  of  his  best  plug." 

I  did  not  want  to  leave  him,  but  I  could  not 
disobey  without  making  a  terrible  scene.  I  went  as 
fast  as  my  legs  would  carry  me,  and  returned  out  of 
breath  with  running.  My  father  had  drank  nothing 
during  my  absence,  and  I  was  startled  when  I  be- 
held his  changed'  appearance  on  my  return.  He  was 
deadly  pale,  and  was  trembling  with  emotion.  He 
was  searching  his  pockets,  and  gazing  nervously 
into  every  hole  and  corner  in  the  engine-room, 
where  I  found  him. 

"  What  is  the  *  matter,  father  ? "  I  asked,  alarmed 
at  his  appearance. 

- "  I  have  lost  my  pocket-book,  Wolf,"  gasped  he, 
in  an  awful  and  impressive  whisper. 

"Lost  it!"  I  exclaimed,  almost  paralyzed  by  the 
intelligence. 

"  Nonsense,  Ralph ! "  added  Christy,  with  a  forced 
laugh.  "You  can't  have  lost  it,  if  you  had  it  when 
you  came  here." 

"  I  did  have  it ;  I  know  I  did.  I  felt  it  in  my 
pocket  after  I  came  on  board." 


48  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

"Then  it  must  be  in  your  pocket  now.  You 
haven't  been  out  of  the  engine-room  since  you 
came,"  persisted  Christy. 

I  helped  my  father  search  his  pockets;  but  the 
pocket-book  was  certainly  gone. 

"You  must  have  dropped  it  out  on  your  way 
down  from  the  bank,"  said  the  engineer. 

"  How  could  I  drop  it  out  ? "  groaned  my  father, 
as  he  pointed  to  the  deep  pocket  in  which  he  al- 
ways kej)t  it. 

I  searched  again  in  every  part  of  my  father's 
clothing,  but  in  vain.  He  was  perfectly  sober  now, 
bo  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  grief  and  mortification 
attending  his  heavy  loss  having  neutralized  the  ef- 
fects of  the  liquor.  On  the  seat  stood  the  queer- 
shaped  bottle  from  which  my  father  had  imbibed 
confusion.  By  its  side  was  the  tumbler,  half  filled 
with  the  whiskey.  I  concluded  that  it  had  been 
poured  out  for  my  father,  and  -that  the  discovery 
of  his  loss  had  prevented  him  from  drinking  it.  I 
put  them  on  the  floor  and  looked  into  the  box;  I 
examined  every  part  of  the  engine-room  again,  but 
without  success.  The  missing  treasure  could  not  be 
found. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  49 

My  father  sat  down  upon  the  box  again,  and 
actually  wept  for  grief  and  shame.  I  heard  the 
whistle  of  the  approaching  train.  It  seemed  to 
startle  the  victim  of  the  whiskey  bottle  from  his 
sad  reverie.  He  removed  his  hands  from  his  face, 
and  glanced  at  Christy,  with  a  look  which  was  full 
of  meaning  to  me,  and  seemed  to  be  quite  intelli- 
gible to  the  engineer. 

"  I  guess  I'll  take  a  look  on  the  wharf,"  said 
Christy,  beginning  to  edge  slowly  out  of  the  en- 
gine-room. 

"  Christy  Holgate,"  cried  my  father,  springing  at 
the  throat  of  the  engineer,  and  clutching  him  like 
a  madman,  "you  have  got  my  money!" 

"  Why,  Ralph,  what  ails  you  ?  Do  you  think  I'd 
take  your  money  ? "  replied  Christy ;  but  his  face 
was  as  pale  as  my  father's,  and  his  lip  quivered. 

"  I  know  you  have !  That's  what  you  made  me 
drunk  for,"  continued  my  father,  savagely,  as  he 
began  to  claw  into  the  garments  of  the  engineer, 
in  search  of  his  treasure. 

Christy  started  as  though  he  had  been  stung  by 
a  serpent  when  my  father  placed  his  hand  upon  his 
4 


50  THROUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

breast  pocket,  and  a  violent  struggle  ensued.  As 
my  maddened  parent  tore  open  his  coat,  I  distinct- 
ly saw  enough  of  the  well-known  pocket-book  to 
enable  me  to  identify  it.  He  had  taken  it  from 
my  father's  pocket  and  transferred  it  to  his  own 
while  handing  him  the  glass  of  whiskey. 

"  He  has  it,  father ! "  I  shouted.  "  I  see  it  in  his 
pocket."    '  , 

Christy  was  a  powerful  man,  and  with  a  desper- 
ate effort  he  shook  off  my  father,  hurling  him  upon 
the  floor  with  much  violence.  Having  shaken  off 
his  fierce  assailant,  he  rushed  from  the  engine-room 
to  the  gang-plank  forward,  by  which  the  passen- 
gers were  coming  on  board,  and  disappeared  in  the 
crowd.  Without  waiting  to  learn  the  condition  of 
my  father,  I  followed  him.  I  lost  sight  of  him  in 
the  throng,  but  I  commenced  an  earnest  search  for 
him.  Presently  I  discovered  him  skulking  along  by 
the  train  on  the  side  opposite  that  at  which  the 
passengers  were  getting  out. 

The  engine  had  been  detached  from  the  train, 
and  had  moved  forward  to  the  water  tank  to  have 
her  tender  filled.     The   engineer   had   left   the   loco- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  51 

motive  to  speak  with  a  friend  on  the  wharf;  and 
the  fireman,  after  the  tender  was  filled,  helped  the 
men  throw  in  the  wood.  I  went  ahead  of  the  en- 
gine, where  I  could  observe  the  movements  of  Chris- 
ty. I  thought  he  would  hide  till  the  train  started, 
and  then  jump  on  board.  If  he  did,  I  meant  to  be 
a  passenger  on  the  same  train. 

The  tender  was  filled  with  wood,  and  the  men 
walked  away,  including  the  fireman.  The  moment 
they  had  gone,  Christy  sneaked  along  by  the  wood- 
sheds, and  jumped  upon  the  locomotive.  He  could 
not  see  me,  for  I  was  concealed  by  the  smoke-stack. 
He  started  the  engine.  I  jumped  upon  the  cow- 
catcher. In  a  moment,  as  he  let  on  the  steam,  the 
locomotive  was  flying  like  lightning  over  the  rails. 
I  clung  to  the  cow-catcher  till  the  motion  was 
steady,  and  then  climbed  up  to  the  side  of  the 
machine,  exhibiting  myself  to  the  astonished  villain. 
At  this  moment,  I  happened  to  think  of  Waddie's 
revolver  in  my  pocket.  It  was  a  useful  plaything 
for  an  emergency  like  this,  and  I  drew  it  forth. 


52  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 


CHAPTER  V. 


CHRISTY    HOLGATE. 


TOP  her!  "  I  shouted  again  and  again  to 
Christy  Holgate,  as  I  pointed  the  pistol  at 
his  head  through  the  window  of  the  cab. 

When  I  first  made  my  appearance,  he  had  thrust 
his  head  and  shoulders  through  the  window,  appar- 
ently to  examine  the  situation,  and  determine  in 
what  manner  he  could  best  dispose  of  me.  I  threat- 
ened to  shoot  him,  and  he  drew  in  his  head,  placing 
himself  where  I  could  not  see  him  without  changing 
my  position. 

I  pointed  the  pistol  at  Christy,  and  threatened  to 
fire ;  but  I  had  as  little  taste  for  shooting  a  man  as 
I  had  for  eating  him,  and  I  beg  the  privilege  of 
adding,  that  I  am  not  a  cannibal.  I  found  it  very 
easy  to  talk  about  firing,  but  very  much  harder  to 
do   it.      Christy  had   proved    that    he  was   a  villain, 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  53 

and  a  very  mean  villain  too ;  but  I  found  it  quite 
impossible  to  carry  my  threat  into  execution.  I 
could  reason  it  out  that  he  deserved  to  be  shot,  and, 
as  he  was  running  away  with  my  father's  money, 
and  did  not  stop  the  engine  when  I  told  him  to 
do  so,  that  it  would  be  perfectly  right  for  me  to 
shoot  him. 

If  I  had  been  a  bloodthirsty,  brutal  monster,  in- 
stead of  an  ordinary  boy  of  sixteen,  with  human  feel- 
ings, I  suppose  I  could  have  fired  the  pistol  while 
the  muzzle  covered  the  head  of  the  rascal  in  the 
cab.  If  I  had  not  been  afraid  of  killing  him,  I 
think  I  should  have  fired ;  for  I  had  considerable 
confidence  in  my  skill  as  a  marksman,  though  it  had 
not  been  fortified  by  much  practical  experience. 

Though  Christy  had  been  very  useful  in  enabling 
me  to  enlarge  my  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  marine  engine,  and  though  I  was  reasonably 
grateful  to  him  for  the  privilege  he  had  afforded 
me,  I  did  not  feel  under  great  obligations  to  him. 
Whenever  I  made  a  trip  with  him  in  the  engine- 
room,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  my  favorite  theme, 
he  invariably  set  me  at  work   upon    some  dirty  job, 


54  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

either  at  oiling  the  machinery  or  cleaning  the  bright 
parts.  He  was  rather  stout,  and  it  was  always  my 
function  to  climb  ivp  and  oil  -the  gudgeons  and  other 
working  parts  of  the  walking-beam.  I  had  done 
almost  everything  pertaining  to  an  engine,  under  his 
direction.  He  used  to  praise  me  without  stint,  and 
call  me  a  smart  boy;  which  perhaps  he  intended  as 
my  reward,  though  I  found  it  in  the  knowledge  and 
experience  I  had  gained. 

I  did  not  refrain  from  pressing  the  trigger  of  the 
revolver  while  aiming  it  at  Christy's  head  on  account 
of  the  debt  of  obligation  which  weighed  me  down. 
I  knew  enough  about  an  engine  to  make  myself 
useful,  and  I  worked  hard  for  all  the  information  I 
obtained.  Still  I  considered  myself  indebted  to  him 
for  the  opportunities  he  had  afforded  me ;  and,  if  he 
had  not  chosen  to  be  a  villain,  I  am  quite  sure  I 
should  always  have  felt  grateful  to  him,  even  while 
I  paid  in  hard  work  for  every  scrap  of  knowledge  I 
obtained  from  him. 

Christy  and  my  father  were  quite  intimate,  though, 
as  the  steamer  in  which  he  served  always  lay  nights 
and  Sundays  at  the  lower  end  of  the  lake,  they  had 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  55 

not  been  together  much  of  late  years.  He  had  rec- 
ommended my  father  for  the  position  he  then  held 
in  the  flour  mills.  I  know  that  my  father  felt  under 
great  obligations  to  him  for  the  kind  words  he  had 
spoken  in  his  favor,  and  had  often  urged  me  to  help 
him  all  I  could,  encouraging  me  by  the  hope  that 
I  might,  by  and  by,  get  a  place  as  engineer  on  a 
steamboat. 

The  engineer  of  the  Ruoara  —  for  this  was  the 
name  of  the  steamer  in  which  we  had  gone  down 
to  TJcayga  —  was  a  strange  man  in  some  respects. 
He  made  a  great  deal  of  the  service  he  had  ren- 
dered to  my  father  and  to  me,  and  very  little  of  the 
service  we  had  rendered  to  him,  for  my  father  had 
often  made  him  little  presents,  often  lent  him  money, 
and  had  once,  when  the  mills  were  not  working,  run 
his  steamer  for  him  a  week,  while  he  was  sick,  with- 
out any  compensation.  I  never  thought  Christy  had 
any  cause  to  complain  of  either  of  us.  But  I  dislike 
this  balancing  of  mutual  obligations,  and  only  do  it 
in  self-defence ;  for  it  is  the  kindness  of  the  heart, 
and  the  real  willingness  to  do  another  a  favor,  which 
constitute  the  obligation,  rather  than  what  is  actually 


56  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

done.  "And  if  ye  do  good  to  them  that  do  good 
to  you,  what  thank  have  ye  ?  For  sinners  also  do 
even  the  same." 

Christy  was  a  man  who  always  believed  that  the 
world  was  using  him  hardly.  He  was  unlucky,  in 
his  own  estimation.  The  world  never  gave  him  his 
due,  and  everybody  seemed  to  get  the  better  of  him. 
Though  he  had  good  wages,  he  was  not  worth  any 
money.  He  spent  his  earnings  as  fast  as  he  got 
them ;  not  in  dissipation,  that  I  am  aware  of,  but 
he  had  a  thriftless  way  of  doing  business.  He  never 
could  get  rid  of  the  suspicion  that  the  world  in  gen- 
eral was  cheating  him  ;  and  for  this  reason  he  had 
an  old  grudge  against  the  world.  On  the  passage  to 
Ucayga  he  discoursed  in  his  favorite  strain  with  my 
father  when  he  learned  his  errand.  The  unhappy 
man  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  unjust  to  him  for 
one  in  the  same  calling  to  have  twenty-four  hun- 
dred dollars  in  cash,  while  he  had  not  a  dollar 
beyond  his  wages. 

The  engineer  of  the  steamer  had  not  pluck  enough 
to  resent  and  resist  injustice.  Perhaps  he  thought 
that   in  introducing    my  father    to    his    situation,  he 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  57 

Lad  been  the  making  of  him,  and  that  he  was  there- 
fore entitled  to  the  lion's  share  of  his.  savings  for 
five  years.  Whatever  he  thought,  he  had  deliber- 
ately formed  his  plan  to  rob  my  father  of  his  money, 
and  had  actually  succeeded  in  his  purpose.  Christy 
knew  the  weak  point  of  his  intended  victim,  and 
had  plied  him  with  whiskey  till  he  was  in  a  situa- 
tion to  be  operated  upon  with  impunity.  I  think 
my  father  wanted  to  drink  again,  and  had  sent  me 
for.  the  i  tobacco  so  that  I  should  not  see  him  do  so. 

My  father  afterwards  told  me  that  he  recalled  the 
movements  of  Christy  when  he  took  the  pocket-book 
from  him,  though  he  thought  nothing  of  them  at 
the  time. 

"  Ralph,  you  are  a  good  fellow  —  the  best  fellow 
out !  Let's  take  one  more  drink,"  said  Christy,  as 
reported  by  my  father. 

"  I'm  a  good  fellow,  Christy,  and  you're  anothei'," 
replied  the  victim.  "  Just  one  more  drink ; "  and  my 
father,  in  his  maudlin  affection  for  his  friend,  had 
thrown  his  arms  around  his    neck,  and  hugged  him. 

During  this  inebriated  embrace  Christy  had  taken 
the    money  from   his   pocket.    After  he   had   poured 


58  THROUGH   BY   DA  FLIGHT,   OE 

out  the  liquor,  he  found  that  his  pocket-book  was 
gone.  The- discovery  paralyzed  him;  but  his  head 
was  too  much  muddled  at  first  to  permit  him  to 
reason  on  the  circumstances.  He  remembered  that  he 
had  felt  the  pocket-book  only  a  few  minutes  before ; 
and,  as  soon  as  he  could  think,  he  was  satisfied  that 
his  companion  had  robbed  him,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  no  one  else  had  been  near  him.  He  was 
ashamed  of  his  own  conduct.  He  was  conscious 
that  he  had  drank  too  much,  and  that  this  had  been 
the  occasion  of  his  misfortune. 

I  do  not  know  what  Christy's  plan  was,  or  how 
he  expected  to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  crime. 
He  had  easily  shaken  my  father  off,  and  made  his 
escape.  However  hardly  the  world  had  used  him,  he 
was  certainly  more  severe  upon  himself  than  his 
tyrant  had  ever  been ;  for  when  a  man  commits  a 
crime,  he  treats  himself  worse  than  any  other  man 
can  treat  him.  I  could  not  fathom  the  villain's 
plan  in  running  away  with  the  locomotive.  I 
doubt  whether  he  had  any  purpose  except  to  escape 
from  immediate  peril,  and  thus  secure  his  ill-gotten 
prize. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  59 

The  circumstances  had  devolved  upon  me  the 
responsibility  of  capturing  the  treacherous  friend. 
Half  a  dozen  times  I  threatened  to  shoot  him  if  he 
did  not  stop  the  engine,  but  somehow  my  muscles 
did  not  seem  to  have  the  power  to  execute  the 
threat.  Christy  had  placed  himself  where  I  could 
not  see  him  through  the  cab  window.  I  examined 
the  revolver,  which  contained  two  charges,  and  then 
walked  up  to  the  window.  The  villain  had  crouched 
down  by  the  fire-box,  evidently  having  a  wholesome 
regard  for  the  weapon  in  my  hand.  The  engine 
was  going  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  I 
judged  that  we  had  gone  about  ten  miles. 

"  Christy  Holgate,  I  don't  want  to  shoot  you,  but 
I'll  do  it,  as  sure  as  you  live,  if  you  don't  stop  her !  " 
I  shouted,  as  loud  as  I  could  yell,  while  I  aimed 
the  revolver  at  him  again. 

"Don't  fire,  Wolf,  and  I'll  stop  her  as  soon  as  I 
can,"  he  replied ;  and  I  think  his  guilty  conscience 
terrified  him  quite  as  much  as  the  pistol. 

He  stood  up,  and  I  saw  the  pocket-book  sticking 
out  of  his  outside  breast  pocket.  I  concluded  that 
he  had  taken  it  out  to   examine    its  contents,  and  I 


60  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

felt  pretty  confident  that  I  should  have  the  satis- 
faction of  restoring  the  lost  treasure  to  my  father. 
With  the  revolver,  containing  two  bullets,  I  realized 
that  I  was  master  of  the  situation. 

Christy  shut  off  the  steam,  and  put  on  the  break 
just  as  we  entered  a  dense  wood.  As  the  speed  of 
the  engine  slackened,  I  climbed  upon  the  roof  of 
the  cab,  and  jumped  down  upon  the  wood  in  the 
tender.  I  took  care  not  to  go  very  near  the  villain, 
for,  even  with  the  pistol  in  my  hand,  I  thought  he 
was  fully  a  match  for  me. 

"Do  you  mean  to  shoot  me,  after  all  I've  done 
for  you,  Wolf?"  said  he,  in  a  whining  tone,  as  the 
engine  stopped. 

"  I  didn't  think  you  would  serve  my  father  such  a 
mean  trick  as  you  did,"  I  replied.  "  I  will  shoot 
you  if  you  don't  give  up   that   pocket-book." 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  take  your  father's  money,  Wolf. 
He  and  I  have  been  good  friends  for  a  great  many 
years,  and  I  wouldn't  hurt  him  any  more  than  I 
would  myself." 

"But  you  did  take  it." 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  keep  it.     I  was  only  joking.     I 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEK.  61 

meant  to  give  it  back  to  hiui ;  but  when  he  flew  at 
me  so,  he  made  me  mad." 

"  What  did  you  run  away  on  the  engine  for, 
then  ?  "  I  demanded,  willing,  if  possible,  to  accept  his 
explanation. 

"You  got  me  into  the  scrape,  and  I  hardly  knew 
what  I  was  about.  I'm  ruined  now,  and  it  won't 
do  for  me  to  go  back." 

"  You  can  go  where  you  please ;  but  give  me  that 
pocket-book,  Christy,  or  we'll  finish  the  business  here," 
I  continued,  raising  the  pistol  again. 

"  Of  course  I'll  give  it  to  you,"  he  answered, 
handing  me  the  pocket-book.  "But  I'm  afraid  to 
go  back  myself." 

I  put  the  treasure  into  my  pocket,  and  felt  that  I 
had  won  the  day.  Christy  jumped  from  the  engine, 
and  disappeared  in  the  woods.     . 


62  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ON"   THE   LOCOMOTIVE. 


I  WAS  entirely  satisfied  with  myself  as  I  put  the 
pocket-book  into  my  breast  pocket,  and  carefully 
buttoned  my  coat.  I  felt  as  though  I  had  really 
done  "  a  big  thing,"  allowing  the  phrase  to  mean 
even  more  than  boys  usually  attach  to  it.  How  my 
father  would  rejoice  to  see  that  money  again  !  How 
thankful  he  would  be  for  the  success  which  had 
attended  my  efforts ! 

The  pocket-book  was  in  my  possession,  and  I  was 
too  much  excited  to  look  into  it.  I  was  somewhat 
afraid,  if  I  did  not  keep  both  eyes  open,  that  Christy 
would  come  out  of  the  woods  and  undo  the  work  I 
had  accomplished.  I  could  hear  him  forcing  his  way 
through  the  underbrush  as  he  retreated ;  but  I  still 
kept  the  revolver  where  I  could  make  use  of  it  if 
occasion  required.     It  seemed  to  me  then  that  my 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  63 

quarrel  with  Mr.  Waddie  had  been  a  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance, since  the  possession  of  the  pistol  had 
enabled  me  to  recover  the  pocket-book.  I  was 
rather  thankful  to  the  scion  for  his  agency  in  the 
matter,  and  willing,  when  the  time  of  settlement 
came,  to  make  some  concessions,  if  needful,  to  his 
vanity  and  pride. 

Christy  had  piled  the  wood  into  the  fire-box  for 
a  hard  run,  and  the  locomotive  was  hissing  and 
quivering  with  the  pressure  of  steam  upon  it.  By 
the  unwritten  law  of  succession,  the  care  of  the 
machine  devolved  upon  me,  and  I  am  willing  to 
confess  that  I  was  not  displeased  with  the  task  im- 
posed upon  me.  To  run  the  engine  alone,  with  no 
one  to  volunteer  any  instructions  or  limitations  to 
me,  was  a  delightful  duty ;  and  I  was  so  absorbed 
by  the  prospect  that  I  gave  no  further  thought  to 
the  pocket-book.     It  was  safe,  and  that  was  enough. 

I  must  run  the  locomotive  back  to  Ucayga;  but  I 
was  fully  equal  to  the  task.  I  knew  every  part  of 
the  machine,  and  had  entire  confidence  in  my  own 
ability.  I  did  not  exactly  like  to  run  her  back- 
wards;   but,   as  there  was   no   turn-table  at  hand,  I 


64  THROUGH    BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

had  no  choice.  Reversing  the  valves,  I  let  on  the 
steam  very  gradually,  and  the  engine  moved  off  ac- 
cording to  my  calculations.  I  gave  her  more  steam, 
and  she  began  to  rush  over  the  rails  at  a  velocity 
which  startled  me,  when  I  considered  that  the  mo- 
tions of  the  machine  were  under  my  control. 

I  had  to  keep  a  lookout  over  the  toj)  of  the 
tender,  and  at  the  same  time  watch  the  furnace,  the 
gauge-cocks,  and  the  indicator ;  and  of  course  I  had 
to  observe  them  much  more  closely  than  would  have 
been  necessary  for  a  person  of  more  experience. 
Having  my  hands  and  my  head  full,  something  less 
than  thirty  miles  an  hour  was  sufficient  to  gratify 
my  ambition.  I  knew  nothing  about  the  roads  which 
crossed  the  track,  and  therefore  I  kept  up  a  constant 
whistling  and  ringing  of  the  bell.  It  was  exciting,  I 
can  testify,  to  any  one  who  never  tried  to  run  a 
locomotive  under  similar  circumstances.  I  was  doing 
duty  as  engineer  and  fireman,  and  I  could  not  think 
of  anything  but  the  business  in  hand. 

It  would  have  been  exceedingly  awkward  and  un- 
pleasant to  burst  the  boiler,  or  run  over  a  vehicle 
crossing  the  track,  and  I  did   not  wish  to  have    my 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  DO 

first  venture  on  a  locomotive  damaged  by  such  an 
accident.  I  kept  a  sharp  lookout,  both  before  and 
behind  me.  It  was  a  new  position  to  me,  and  I 
enjoyed  the  novelty  of  it,  in  spite  of  the  fear  of 
being  blown  up,  or  smashed  by  a  collision.  I  kept 
the  whistle  sounding,  and  as  the  engine  whirled 
around  a  bend,  after  I  had  been  running  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes,  I  saw  some  men  lifting  a  hand-car 
from  the  track  in  great  haste.  They  had  heard 
my  warning  in  season  to  prevent  the  catastrophe  I 
dreaded. 

"  Stop  her ! "  shouted  one  of  the  party,  with  all 
his  might,  as  the  engine  thundered  by  him. 

A  glance  at  the  party  assured  me  that  one  of  them 
was  the  engineer  of  the  train.  I  shut  off  the  steam, 
and  put  on  the  break.  As  it  was  a  down  grade,  the 
engine  went  about  a  mile  before  I  could  stop  her. 
But,  as  soon  as  I  had  brought  her  to  a  halt,  I  re- 
versed the  valves  again,  and  went  ahead  till  I  came 
up  with  the  party,  who  were  just  putting  the  hand- 
car upon  the  track  again.  The  engineer  and  fire- 
man leaped  upon  the  foot-board.  The  former  was 
much  excited,  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to 
5 


66  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB, 

find  that  he  did  not  even  thank  me  for  bringing 
back  his  engine. 

"  What  does  all  this  mean  ?  "  he  demanded,  with 
an  oath.  "  What  did  you  run  away  with  the  engine 
for?" 

"I  did  not  run  away  with  her;  I  only  brought 
her  back,"  I  replied,  indignantly. 

"  Who  was  the  man  that  stole  the  money  ? " 

"  That  was  Christy  Holgate ;  he  was  the  man 
that  run  away  with  the  engine." 

"  Who   are  you  ?  " 

"  I'm  Wolf  Penniman.  The  money  was  stolen 
from  my  father.  When  I  saw  Christy  leap  into  the 
cab,  I  jumped  upon  the  cow-catcher." 

"  Then  you  are  the  boy  they  were  looking  for 
down  to   the  station." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that.  I  had  a  pistol,  and  I 
made  Christy  stop  her,  and  give  me  the  pocket-book. 
He  got  off  then,  and  ran  into  the  woods.  I  ran 
the  engine  back  again." 

"  I'm  sorry  you  didn't  shoot  the  rascal,"  added  the 
engineer,  as  he  examined  into  the  condition  of  the 
locomotive. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  67 

"I  got  the  pocket-book  again,  and  that  was  all  I 
wanted.     I  didn't  wish  to  kill  him." 

"  Who  told  you  how  to  run  an  engine  ?  "  asked 
the  engineer,  as  he  started  the  locomotive. 

"My  father  is  an  engineer,  and  I've  always  been 
among  engines,  though  I  never  ran  a  locomotive 
alone  before." 

"  I  suppose  you  think  you  can  run  one  now." 

"Yes,  sir;  I  can  put  her  through  by  daylight,"  I 
replied,  using  a  pet  phrase  of  mine. 

"  You  have  done  very  well,  sonny,"  said  he,  with 
a  smile ;  and  he  could  afford  to  smile,  though  he 
growled  a  great  deal  at  being  an  hour  behind  time 
by  the  event  of  losing  his  engine. 

He  asked  me  a  great  many  questions  about  Christy 
and  the  robbery;  and  the  conversation  was  only  in- 
terrupted by  our  arrival  at  the  Ucayga  station,  where 
the  impatient  passengers  were  waiting  to  continue 
their  journey.  I  jumped  off;  the  engine  was  shackled 
to  the  train  again,  and  went  on  its  way. 

"Hallo,  Wolf!"  called  the  captain  of  the  steamer 
to  me.     "Where  is  Christy?" 

"  I  don't  know,  sir.  He  jumped  off  the  locomo- 
tive, and  ran  away  into  the  woods." 


68  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

A  crowd  of  people  gathered  around  me  to  hear 
my  story,  for  the  facts  of  the  robbery  had  been  re- 
lated by  my  father.  I  felt  the  pocket-book  in  my 
coat,  and  declined  to  answer  any  questions  till  I  had 
seen  my  father.  I  was  told  he  was  on  board  of  the 
steamer,  and  I  hastened  to  find  him.  He  was  in 
the  engine-room,  where  I  had  left  him.  He  was  still 
deadly  pale,  and  seemed  to  have  grown  ten  years 
older  in  a  single  hour. 

"  Where  have  you  been,  Wolf  ? "  asked  he,  in  a 
voice  almost  choking  with  emotion. 

"  I  have  been  after  Christy  ?  " 

"Did  you  catch  him?"  he  asked,  in  a  septilchral  tone. 

"I  was  on  the  engine  with  him.  Here  is  your 
pocket-book,  father." 

He  grasped  it  with  convulsive  energy,  and  seemed 
to  grow  young  again  in  a  moment.  The  crowd, 
most  of  whom  were  passengers  in  the  steamer,  gath- 
ered in  the  gangway,  by  the  side  of  the  engine-room, 
to  learn  the  facts.  In  an  excited  manner  I  began 
to  tell  my  story. 

"  What  does  he  say  ?  Speak  louder,  boy ! "  called 
the  men  behind  me. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEK.  69 

Though  I  did  not  feel  like  haranguing  a  multitude, 
I  raised  my  voice. 

"  Good !  Good  ! "  shouted  the  crowd,  when  I  came 
to  the  point  where  I  aimed  the  revolver  at  Christy 
in  the  cab.    "Why  didn't  you  shoot  him?" 

"When  I  drew  a  bead  upon  him,  he  stopped  the 
engine,  and  gave  up  the  pocket-book,"  I  continued, 
with  boyish   exhilaration. 

"  Wolf,  you  have  saved  me,"  gasped  my  delighted 
father ;  "  but  I  am  rather  sorry  you  did  not  shoot 
the  villain." 

"We  are  wasting  the  whole  day  here,"  said  the 
captain  of  the  boat,  nervously.  "We  have  no  engi- 
neer now.     Ralph,  will  you  run  us  up  the  lake  ? " 

"Certainly  I  will,"  replied  my  father,  taking  his 
place  at  the  machinery. 

I  sat  down  in  the  engine-room  with  him,  and  an- 
swered the  questious  he  put  to  me  about  the  affair. 
He  obeyed  the  signals  given  him  by  the  bells,  and 
as  soon  as  the  boat  was  going  ahead  at  full  speed, 
he  took  a  seat  at  my  side. 

"  Wolf,  I  have  suffered  more  to-day  than  in  all  the 
rest  of  my  lifetime,"  said  he,  wiping,  the  perspiration 


70  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

from  his  brow.  "  If  I  had  lost  that  money,  it  would 
well  nigh  have  killed  me.  It  was  a  lucky  thing 
that  you  took  that  pistol  from  Waddie." 

"It  happened  just  right;  Christy  was  afraid  of  it, 
and  when  I  got  the  muzzle  to  bear  upon  him,  he 
came  down  like  Crockett's  coon,"  I  answered,  with 
no  little  self-complaisance. 

"  Was  he  willing  to  give  it  up  ?  " 

"  Pie  couldn't  help  himself.  If  he  hadn't  given  it 
up,  I  should  have  put  a  bullet  through  him." 

"I'm  glad  you  didn't  have  to  do  that,  on  the 
whole,  though  I  shouldn't  have  cared  much  if  you 
had  shot  him,"  added  my  father,  putting  his  hand 
upon  the  pocket-book  to  assure  himself  of  its  present 
safety.  "I  wouldn't  have  believed  Christy  could  be 
guilty  of  such  a  mean  trick.  But  it  was  my  fault, 
Wolf.  You  saw  how  it  was  done,  and  it  has  been 
a  lesson  to  me  which   I  shall  never  forget." 

My  father  sighed  heavily  as  he  thought  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  I  fancy  he  promised  himself  then 
never  again  to  touch  whiskey. 

"Did  Christy  open  the  pocket-book?"  he  asked, 
after  a  silence  of,  some  minutes. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  71 

"I  don't  know.  I  didn't  see  him  open  it,  and  I 
don't  know  when  he  could  have  had  time  to  do  so," 
I  replied. 

"It  don't  look  as  though  it  had  been  touched," 
said  he,  taking  the  pocket-book  from  his  pocket,  and 
proceeding  to  open  it. 

"I  guess  it  is  all  right,  father,"  I  added. 

"  All  right !  "  gasped  he.  "  There  is  not  a  single 
dollar  in  it!" 

My  father  groaned  in  bitterness  of  spirit.  I  looked 
into  the  open  pocket-book.  The  money  had  all  been 
taken  from  it ! 


72  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE    VIAL   OF   WKATH. 


I  WAS  both  amazed  and  confounded  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  the  pocket-book  did  not  contain 
the  money.  From  the  depth  of  despair  my  father 
and  myself  had  gone  up  to  the  pinnacle  of  hope, 
when  the  treasure  was  supposed  to  be  found;  and 
now  we  fell  back  into  a  deeper  gulf  than  that  into 
which  we  had  first  fallen.  Those_  with  whom  money 
is  plenty  cannot  understand  the  greatness  of  my 
father's  loss.  For  years  he  had  toiled  and  saved  in 
order  to  clear  the  house  in  which  we  lived.  He 
had  struggled  with,  and  conquered,  the  appetite  for 
intoxicating  drinks,  in  order  to  acconrplisk  his  great 
purpose. 

He  had  been  successful.  He  had  kept  away  from 
the  drunkard's  bowl,  he  had  lived  prudently,  he  had 
carefully    husbanded    all    his   resources,   and    at    the 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  73 

time  my  story  begins,  he  felt  that  the  pretty  little 
place  where  we  lived  actually  belonged  to  him.  It 
was  always  to  be  the  home  of  his  family,  and  it 
was  all  the  more  loved  and  prized  because  it  had 
been  won  by  constant  toil  and  careful  saving.  This 
was  the  feeling  of  my  father,  as  it  was  my  own, 
when  we  started  for  TJcayga  to  draw  the  money 
from  the  bank.  We  felt  like  the  king  and  the 
prince  who  had  won  a  great  victory,  and  were  to 
march  in  triumph  into  the  conquered   possession. 

My  father  was  elated  by  what  he  had  accom- 
plished. The  mortgage  note  for  two  thousand  dol- 
lars would  be  due  the  next  week,  and  he  had  the 
money  to  pay  it,  with  enough  to  make  the  coveted 
improvements.  It  would  have  been  better  if  he  had 
not  been  elated ;  for  this  feeling  led  him  to  believe 
that,  as  the  battle  had  been  Avon,  there  was  no 
longer  any  need  of  the  vigilance  with  which  he  had 
guarded  himself.  He  had  raised  the  cup  to  his  lips, 
and  in  a  moment,  as  it  were,  his  brilliant  fortune 
deserted  him,  the  savings  of  years  were  wrenched 
from  his  relaxed  grasp. 

I  do  not  wonder,  as  I   consider  how  prudent  and 


74  THKOUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

careful  lie  had  been,  that  he  sank  into  the  depths 
of  despair  when  he  found  the  money  was  really 
gone.  The  struggle  had  been  long  and  severe,  the 
victory  sublime  and  precious ;  and  now  the  defeat, 
in  the  moment  of  conquest,  was  terrible  in  the  ex- 
treme. I  trembled  for  my  father  while  I  gazed  into 
his  pale  face,  and  observed  the  sweep  of  his  tortur- 
ing emotions,  as  they  were  displayed  in  his  expres- 
sion. 

For  my  own  part,  I  was  intensely  mortified  at 
the  result  of  my  efforts.  I  felt  cheap  and  mean,  as 
I  sank  down  from  the  height  to  which  I  had  lifted 
myself,  and  realized  that  all  my  grand  deeds  had 
been  but  a  farce.  If  I  had  only  looked  into  the 
pocket-book  when  Christy  returned  it  to  me,  I 
might  have  saved  this  terrible  fall.  The  villain  had 
probably  taken  the  money  from  it  while  he  was 
crouching  down  by  the  fire-box.  He  had  played  a 
trick  upon  me,  and  I  had  been  an  easy  victim.  I 
was  but  a  boy,  while  I  had  felt  myself  to  be  a 
man,  and  had  behaved  like  a  boy.  If  I  had  been 
smart  in  one  respect,  I  had  been  stupid  in  another. 
I   blamed   myself  severely  for   permitting   myself  to 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  75 

be  duped  by  Christy  at  the  moment  when  he  was 
in  my  power.  I  almost  wished  that  I  had  shot 
him;  but  I  am  sure  now  that  I  should  have  felt 
ten  times  worse,  if  I  had  killed  him,  even  if  I  had 
obtained  the  money  by  doing  so. 

"I  am  ruined,  Wolf,"  groaned  my  father,  as  he 
dropped  upon  the  seat  in  the  engine-room.  "  I  shall 
never  get  the  money  now." 

"I  think  you  will,  father,"  I  replied,  trying  to  be 
hopeful  rather  than  confident. 

"No;  I  shall  never  see  a  dollar  of  it  again." 

"Don't  give  it  up  yet,  father.  Christy  has  gone 
off  in  his  every-day  clothes,  and  left  his  family  at 
Ucayga.  He  will  come  back  again,  or  you  will  get 
some  clew  to  him." 

"I'm  afraid  not,"  said  my  father,  shaking  his 
head. 

"But  something  must  be  done.  Christy  isn't  a 
great  way  off,  and  we  must  put  him  through  by 
daylight,"  I  added. 

"  What  can  we  do  ?  It  isn't  much  use  to  do  any- 
thing." 

"Yes,  it  is.     Something  can  be  done,  I  know." 


76  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

"  Where  are  we  now,  Wolf?  "  asked  my  father. 

I  did  not  know  where  we  were,  for  there  was  no 
chance  to  see  the  shore  from  the  engine-room.  I 
walked  out  on  the  forward  deck,  and  returned  im- 
mediately. 

"Well,  where  are  we,  Wolf?"  demanded  my 
father,  rather  sharply,  as  he  laid  down  the  glass 
from  which  he  had  just  drained  another  dram  taken 
from  Christy's  queer-shaped   bottle. 

"We  are  just  oft'  the  North  Shoe,"  I  replied,  as 
gloomily  as  though  another  third  of  my  father's 
worldly  wealth  had   also  taken   to  itself  wings. 

My  poor  father  was  drinking  whiskey  again.  In 
his  depression  and  despair,  the  bottle  seemed  to  be 
his  only  resource.  I  have  since  learned  enough  of 
human  nature  to  understand  how  it  was  with  him. 
Men  in  the  sunlight  of  jDrosperity  play  with  the 
fiend  of  the  cup.  Full  of  life,  full  of  animal  spirits, 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  control  the  appetite. 
But  when  the  hour  of  despondency  comes;  when 
depression  invades  the  mind ;  when  earthly  posses- 
sions elude  the  grasp, — then  they  flee  to  the  conso- 
lations of  the    cup.     It   gives    an   artificial    strength, 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  77 

and  men  who  in  prosperity  might  always  have  kept 
sober  and  temperate,  in  adversity  are  lost  in  the 
whirlpool  of  tippling  and  inebriation. 

Thus  it  seemed  to  be  with  my  father.  He  had 
begun  to  drink  that  day  in  the  elation  of  his  spirits ; 
he  was  now  resorting  to  the  cup  as  an  antidote  for 
depi-ession  and  despair.  The  dram  had  its  tempo- 
rary effect ;  but,  while  he  was  cheered  by  the  fiery 
draught,  I  trembled  for  him.  I  feared  that  this  was 
only  the  beginning  of  the  end  —  that  he  needed 
prosperity  to  save  him  from  himself. 

"  Off  the  North  Shoe,"  said  he ;  but  he  was  not 
able  wholly  to  conceal  his  vexation  that  I  had  seen 
him  take  the  glass  from  his  lips.  "We  shall  be  in 
Ruoara  in  half  an  hour,  and  I  will  send  a  sheriff 
after  the  villain.  You  say  Christy  went  about  ten 
miles,  Wolf?" 

"Yes,  sir;  as  nearly  as  I  could  guess." 

"We'll  catch  him  yet,"  added  my  father,  confi- 
dently. "Have  an  eye  to  the  engine,  Wolf,  while  I 
go  and  see  the  captain  about  it." 

My  father  left  the  engine-room,  which  he  would 
not   have  done   if  he  had  not  supposed   me  entirely 


78  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

competent  to  run  the  machine.  I  determined  to 
have  an  eye  to  something  besides  the  engine.  In 
my  father's  present  state  of  mind,  I  feared  he  would 
drink  till  he  was  helpless.  I  raised  the  lid  of  the 
seat  and  took  out  the  strange  bottle.  It  was  about 
half  full.  There  was  mischief  enough  left  in  it  to 
rob  my  father  of  all  his  senses. 

Even  as  a  boy  I  prided  myself  on  my  prompt- 
ness in  action.  The  present  seemed  to  be  a  moment 
when  it  was  my  duty  to  cast  out  an  evil  spirit.  I 
took  the  bottle  to  the  gangway,  where  there  was  a 
large  scupper-hole  to  let  the  water  run  off  when  the 
decks  were  washed  down.  Into  this  I  emptied  the 
contents  of  the  "vial  of  wrath."  The  fiery  liquid 
ran  through  and  mingled  with  the  clear  waters  of 
the  lake.  Having  no  spite  against  the  bottle,  I  re- 
turned it  to  the  locker  in  the  engine-room,  rather 
to  save  my  father  the  trouble  of  looking  for  it  than 
because  I  had  any  regard  for  its  preservation. 

Presently  my  father  returned  with  the  captain  of 
the  steamer,  who  did  not  seem  to  relish  the  idea 
of  leaving  the  engine  in  charge  of  a  boy  of  fifteen. 
They  talked   about   the   lost  money,   and  my   father 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  79 

was  tolerably  cheerful  under  the  influence  of  the 
dram  he  had  taken.  The  captain  said  that  Mr.  Mor- 
timer, the  sheriff,  was  almost  always  on  the  wharf 
when  the  steamer  made  her  landing,  and  that  he 
would  be  glad  to  start  instantly  in  pursuit  of  the 
robber.  It  was  a  kind  of  business  which  he  en- 
joyed, and  if  any  one  could  catch  Christy,  he  could. 
I  was  quite  satisfied  with  this  arrangement,  and  so 
was  my  father. 

When  the  boat  touched  at  Ruoara,  Mr.  Mortimer 
was  on  the  pier,  as  the  captain  had  said  he  would  be. 
He  was  more  than  willing  to  undertake  the  task 
of  pursuing  the  thief,  and  the  steamer  was  detained 
at  the  landing  long  enough  for  him  to  procure  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  fugitive.  He  was  to 
cross  the  lake  to  the  next  port  on  the  other  side, 
from  which  he  was  to  proceed,  by  private  convey- 
ance, to  the  town  nearest  to  the  point  where  Christy 
had  left  the  locomotive.  Mr.  Mortimer  came  into, 
the  engine-room  as  the  boat  started,  and  we  gave 
him  all  the  information  we  possessed  in  regard  to 
the  robber. 


80  THROUGH   BY    DAYLIGHT,    OB 

"Now,  Mortimer,  won't  you  take  something  before 
you  go  ashore  ? "  said  my  father. 

"  Thank  you,  I  don't  care  if  I  do,"  replied  the 
sheriff.  "I  have  had  a  cold  for  two  or  three  days, 
and  a  little  of  the  ardent  won't  hurt  me,  though  I 
am  not  in  the  habit  of  taking  it  very  often." 

"  It  will  do  you  good ;  it  does  me  good,"  added 
my  father,  as  he  raised  the  lid  of  the  locker  and 
took  out  the  queer  bottle. 

The  "  vial  of  wrath "  was  empty.  My  father 
looked  at  me — looked  uglier  than  I  had  ever  seen 
him  look  before.  He  held  it  over  the  glass,  and 
inverted  it.  My  work  had  been  thoroughly  accom- 
plished, and  hardly  a  drop  of  the  fiery  fluid  an- 
swered the  summons  to  appear-.  My  father  looked 
at  me  again.  His  lips  were  compressed,  and  his 
eyes  snapped  with   anger. 

"All  gone  — is  it?"  laughed  the  sheriff.  "Well, 
no  matter;   I  can   get  along  without  it." 

"  We'll  take  some  at  the  bar,"  said  my  father, 
as   the  bell  rang  to  "  slow "   her. 

When  the  boat  was  fast  to  the  wharf,  they  went 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  81 

to  the  bar  and  drank  together.  Somehow,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  all  my  calculations  were  failing  on  that 
day;  but  still  I  hoped  to  accomplish  something  by 
the  deed  I  had  done.  Mr.  Mortimer  went  on  shore, 
and  my  father  returned  to  the  engine-room.  I 
hoped  he  would  be  satisfied  with  the  dram  he  had 
taken,  and  that  I  should  escape  the  consequences  of 
his  anger.  The  bell  rang,  and  the  boat  started 
again. 

"Wolf,  did   you  empty   that    bottle?"   asked   my 
father,  sternly. 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did,"  I  replied,  gently,  but  firmly. 

"What  did  you  do  that  for?" 

"  I   thought   it    was   best   not   to   have   the   liquor 
here,"  I  answered,   with  no  little  trepidation. 

"  Best !  "  exclaimed  he.   "  Who  made  you  a  keeper 
over  me  ?  " 

I  did  not  dare  to  say  anything.  I  held  my  peace, 
resolved  to  endure  the  storm  in  silence,  lest  some 
disrespectful  word  should  escape  my  lips.  My  father 
was  very  angry,  and  I  feared  that,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  liquor,  he  would  do  violence  to  me; 
but  he  did  not. 
6 


82  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

"  Get  away  from  here !  Don't  let  me  see  you 
around  me  any  longer,"  said  he,  at  last,  when  he 
found  that  I  was  not  disposed  to  explain  my  con- 
duct, or  to  cast  any  reproaches  upon  him. 

I  went  to  the  forward  deck,  and  seated  myself 
on  the  rail  at  the  bow. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  83 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   DUMMY   ENGINE. 

MY  father  and  I  had  always  been  on  the  best 
of  terms.  He  was  very  considerate  to  me, 
and  used  to  talk  with  me  a  great  deal;  indeed,  he 
treated  me  in  such  a  way  that  I  had  very  little 
reason  to  think  I  was  a  boy.  He  discussed  his 
plans  with  me,  and  often  asked  my  advice,  just  as 
though  I  had  been  a  man  of  mature  judgment.  He 
was  angry  with  me  now,  almost  for  the  first  time 
in  my  remembrance;  certainly  he  had  never  before 
been  so  highly  exasperated  with  me.  But  I  con- 
soled myself  with  the  reflection  that  he  was  par- 
tially intoxicated,  and  that  when  the  fumes  of  the 
whiskey  had  worked  off,  he  would  be  as  kind  and 
gentle  to  me  as   ever. 

Perhaps  it  was  wrong  for  me   to  empty  the  bot- 
tle;   but,   as    I   can   never  know   what   would   have 


84  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,  OR 

happened  if  I  had  not  done  so,  I  am  content  with 
simply  believing  that  I  did  it  for  the  best.  He  was 
in  charge  of  the  engine.  There  were  fifty  precious 
lives  on  the  boat.  My  father  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  very  steady  and  reliable  man.  If  he  had 
been  a  little  noisy  and  turbulent  at  Ucayga,  the 
shock  of  losing  his  money  had  wrought  a  sudden 
and  wonderful  change  in  his  manner,  so  that  few, 
if  any,  had  noticed  him.  After  the  steamer  started, 
I  alone  was  aware  of  his  condition ;  I  alone  knew 
of  his  resuming  his  cups;  and  I  alone  knew  that, 
left  to  himself,  he  would  soon  be  intoxicated,  and 
incapable  of  managing  the  engine.  I  could  not  wish 
that  I  had  not  emptied  the  bottle,  even  while  I 
suffered  intensely  under  the  consciousness  of  his 
displeasure. 

While  I  was  thinking  of  the  wrath  of  my  father, 
and  of  the  consequences  which  might  follow  the 
loss  of  the  money,  the  steamer  approached  Middle- 
port,  which  was  opposite  Centreport,  where  we 
lived.  My  attention  was  immediately  attracted  by 
a  singular-looking  object  on  a  canal  boat  at  the 
wharf.      My  thoughts   were  partially  diverted    for  a 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER. 


85 


time  from  the  painful  circumstances  of  our  family 
affairs,  and  I  gazed  with  interest  at  the  strange 
object.  It  looked  like  an  immense  omnibus,  only 
it  had  a  smoke-stack  passing  through  the  roof  at 
one  end.  I  had  never  seen  such  a  thing  before, 
and  I  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 

"Ah,  the  dummy  has  arrived,"  said  a  Middleport 
passenger,  who  had  come  forward  to  look  at  the 
carriage. 

"The  what,  sir?"  I  asked. 

«The  dummy." 

"What's  a  dummy?"  I  inquired;  for,  with  all 
my  study  of   steam   engines,  I  had   never  heard  of 

one. 

« It's  a  railroad  car  with  an  engine  in  one  end  of 
it,"  replied  the  gentleman ;  and  by  this  time  I  could 
make  out  the  form  of  the  thing.  "It  is  for  the 
Lake  Shore  Railroad.  I  suppose  you  have  heard 
that  the  students  of  the  Toppleton  Institute  are 
building  a  railroad  on  the  shore  of  the  lake." 

"Yes,  sir,  I  have  heard  of  it." 

"This  dummy  was  built  to  run  on   a  horse  rail- 
road   in    Philadelphia;    but    though  they  call   it  a 


86  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

dummy,  it  made  so  much  noise,  and  frightened  so 
many  horses,  they  could  not  use  it  in  the  streets. 
Major  Toppleton  saw  it,  and  bought  it  cheap,  for 
the  students,  in  order  to  get  a  little  ahead  of 
the  Wimpleton  Institute,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake." 

As  the  boat  approached  the  wharf,  I  examined 
the  dummy  very  carefully.  It  was  a  railway  car- 
riage, similar  to  those  used  on  street  roads,  having 
an  engine  in  one  end  to  propel  it.  It  would  be  a 
rare  plaything  for  the  Toppletonians,  and  I  envied 
them  the  possession  of  such  a  prize.  I  knew  all 
about  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  and  many  a  pang 
of  jealousy  had  it  caused  the  Wimpletonians,  on  our 
side  of  the  lake ;  for  a  stupendous  rivalry  existed 
between  the  two  Institutes,  which  were  separated 
from  each  other  by  only  a  mile  of  fresh  water. 

Lake  Ucayga  is  about  forty-five  miles  long.  At 
the  foot  of  it  was  the  town  of  the  same  name,  con- 
nected with  the  great  centres  of  travel  by  railroad. 
At  the  head  of  the  lake  was  the  large  town  of 
Hitaca.  The  average  width  of  the  lake  was  three 
miles ;   but  near  the  middle  —  or,  to  be  more   accu- 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  87 

rate,  twenty  miles  from  Ucayga,  and  twenty-five 
from  Hitaca  —  a  point  of  land  jutted  out  on  the 
west  side,  so  as  to  leave  a  passage  only  a  mile  in 
width.  On  this  peninsula  was  located  the  town 
of  Middleport,  and  directly  opposite  was  Centre- 
port. 

Below  these  towns  the  country  was  level,  while 
above  them  it  was  hilly,  and  even  mountainous  near 
the  head  of  the  lake.  Middleport  and  Centreport 
were  of  very  modern  origin,  so  far  as  their  social 
and  commercial  importance  was  concerned,  and  their 
growth  and  history  were  somewhat  remarkable. 
They  are  located  on  the  verge  of  the  hilly  region, 
and  the  scenery  around  them,  without  being  grand 
or  sublime,  is  very  beautiful. 

Hardly  twenty  years  before  my  story  opens,  two 
gentlemen  had  come  up  to  the  lake  to  spend  a  week 
in  hunting  and  fishing.  They  were  fast  friends,  and 
each  of  them  had  made  an  immense  fortune  in  the 
China  trade.  The  narrow  part  of  the  lake  —  gener- 
ally called  "The  Narrows"  —  attracted  their  atten- 
tion on  account  of  its  picturesque  scenery.  They 
were   delighted   with   the   spot,  and  the  result  was, 


88  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

that,  on  retiring  from  business,  they  fixed  their  res- 
idences here. 

One  of  these  gentlemen  was  Colonel  Wimpleton, 
and  the  other  was  Major  Toppleton.  They  had 
won  their  military  titles  in  the  same  regiment  of 
militia  in  their  earlier  life,  and  had  clung  together 
like  brothers  for  many  years.  They  built  their  ele- 
gant mansions  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  facing 
each  other,  and  formerly  gayly-painted  barges  were 
continually  plying  between  them.  Certainly  their 
houses  looked  like  palaces  of  enchantment,  so  ele- 
gantly were  the  grounds  laid  out,  and  so  pictur- 
esque were  the  surroundings.  In  front  of  each,  on 
the  lake,  was  a  wall  of  dressed  stone,  from  the 
quarries  in  the  neighborhood.  From  these  walls, 
the  grounds,  covered  with  the  richest  green  in  sum- 
mer, sloped  gradually  up  to  the  houses.  They  were 
adorned  with  smooth  walks  and  avenues,  shaded  with 
a  variety  of  trees.  Indeed,  I  think  nothing  more 
lovely  was  ever  seen  or  imagined. 

Major  Toppleton,  on  the  Middleport  side,  built  a 
flour  mill ;  the  village  began  to  grow,  and  soon 
became    a  place    of   considerable   commercial   impor- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  89 

tance.  At  the  same  time,  Centreport  increased  in 
population  and  wealth,  though  not  so  rapidly  as  its 
neighbor  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake.  Both  the 
gentlemen  had  sons ;  and  they  were  alive  to  the 
importance  of  giving  them  a  good  education.  This 
consideration  induced  them  to  discuss  the  propriety 
of  establishing  an  academy,  and  both  agreed  that 
such  an  institution  was  desirable,  especially  as  there 
was  not  one  of  high  standing  within  fifty  miles  of 
the  place.  Then  the  difficult  and  delicate  question 
of  the  location  of  the  proposed  academy  came  up 
for  settlement.  Each  of  them  wanted  it  on  his  side 
of  the  lake ;  and  on  this  rock  the  two  friends,  who 
had  been  almost  brothers  for  forty  years,  S]}lit ;  and 
the  warmth  of  their  former  friendship  seemed  to  be 
the  gauge   of  their  present  enmity. 

The  feud  waxed  fierce  and  bitter;  and  hence- 
forth Middleport  and  Centreport,  which  had  always 
been  twin  sisters,  were  savage  foes.  The  major  built 
a  lofty  edifice,  and  called  it  the  Toppleton  Institute. 
The  colonel,  not  to  be  thwarted  or  outdone,  built 
another  on  a  grander  scale,  and  called  it  the  Wim- 
pleton  Institute.     Everything  that  could  add  to  the 


90  THROUGH   BY    DAYLIGHT,   OR 

efficiency  and  the  popularity  of  the  two  institutions 
was  liberally  supplied ;  and,  as  competition  is  the  life 
of  trade,  as  well  in  literary  as  in  commercial  affairs, 
both  thrived  splendidly.  All  the  principal  cities  and 
towns  of  the  Union  were  represented  among  the 
students.  The  patron  millionnaire  of  each,  with  his 
principal  and  teachers,  labored  and  studied  to  de- 
vise some  new  schemes  which  would  add  to  the 
popularity  of  his  institution.  Military  drill,  gym- 
nastics, games,  boating,  English,  French,  and  Ger- 
man systems,  were  introduced,  and  dispensed  with 
as  fresher  novelties  were  presented. 

The  rival  academies  numbered  about  a  hundred 
students  each,  and  neither  seemed  to  obtain  any 
permanent  advantage  over  the  other.  "  Like  master, 
like  man;"  and,  as  the  major  and  the  colonel  quar- 
relled, the  pupils  could  hardly  help  following  their 
illustrious  example;  so  that  it  was  fortunate  a  mile 
of  deep  water  lay  between  the  two. 

The  rivalry  of  the  millionnaires  was  not  confined 
to  the  schools ;  it  extended  to  the  towns  themselves. 
Colonel  Wimpleton  built  a  flour  mill  on  the  Cen- 
treport  side,   and   fought  boldly   and    cunningly    for 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  91 

the  commercial  salvation  of  his  side  of  the  lake.  If 
a  bank,  an  insurance  company,  or  a  sawmill  was 
established  in  Middleport,  .  another  immediately  ap- 
peared in  Centreport ;  and  the  converse  of  the  prop- 
osition was  equally  true. 

In  the  midst  of  this  rivalry  the  Toppleton  Insti- 
tute was  vivified  by  a  new  idea.  The  mania  for 
building  railroads  which  pervaded  the  Northern 
States  invaded  the  quiet  haunts  of  learning.  Many 
of  the  students  were  the  sons  of  prominent  railroad 
men,  and  Major  Toppleton  hit  upon  the  magnificent 
scheme  of  giving  the  young  gentlemen  a  railroad 
education.  A  company  had  been  organized ;  certifi- 
cates of  stock  and  bonds  —  of  which  the  munificent 
patron  of  the  institution  was  the  largest  holder — 
were  issued.  A  president,  directors,  treasurer,  and 
clerk  were  elected  ;  superintendents,  track-masters, 
baggage-masters,  conductors,  brakemen,  engineers, 
firemen,  switch-tenders,  and  other  officials  were  duly 
appointed.  At  first  the  railroad  was  to  be  an  imagi- 
nary concern ;  but  the  wealthy  pati'on  was  not  con- 
tent to  have  the  business  done  on  paper  only.  He 
purchased  sleepers  and  rails,  and  the  students  had 


92  THKOTJGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

actually  built  five  miles  of  road  on  the  level  bor- 
der of  the  lake.  The  dummy  engine  had  been 
bought,  and  had  been  sent  by  railroad  to  the  head 
of  the  lake,  and  thence  to  Middleport  by  a  canal 
boat. 

This  splendid  project  of  the  Toppletonians  was 
viewed  with  consternation  by  the  Wimpletonians. 
I  was  warmly  interested  in  the  scheme,  and  watched 
its  progress  with  the  deepest  interest.  The  dummy 
was  a  miracle  to  me,  and  I  regarded  it  with  the 
most  intense  delight.  All  the  Toppletonians,  as- 
sisted by  a  few  men,  were  on  the  shore,  busy  as 
bees  in  transferring  the  machine  to  the  wharf. 
Planks  had  been  laid  down  on  which  to  roll  it 
from  the  boat,  and  rigging  manned  by  the  students 
was  attached  to  it,  by  which  it  was  to  be  hauled 
on  shore. 

The  steamer  was  to  make  a  landing  alongside 
the  canal  boat.  I  stood  at  the  bow  watching  the 
operation  of  moving  the  dummy.  They  had  rolled 
it  two  or  three  feet  up  the  skids ;  but  "  too  many 
cooks  spoil  the  broth."  A  rope  broke,  the  machine 
slipped  back,  and  canting   the   boat  by  its  impetus, 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  93 

the  thing  rolled  off,  with  a  tremendous  splash,  into 
the  lake.  The  steamer  backed  just  in  season  to 
avoid  smashing  it   into  a  hopeless  wreck. 

If  Centreport   had  been   there   it  would   have   re- 
joiced exceedingly  at  this  mishap. 


94  THEOUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,  OB 


CHAPTER  IX. 


TOPPLETONIANS    AND    WIMPLETONLAN'S. 


"fc  /TIDDLEPORT    had  a  terrible    fall   in    the   un- 


1V1 


fortunate  slip  of  the  dummy  engine;  and  if 
any  Wimpletonians,  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake, 
witnessed  the  catastrophe,  I  am  afraid  they  were 
ill-natured  enough  to  "  crow "  over  it ;  for  to  have 
seen  the  thing  hissing  up  and  down  on  the  opposite 
shore  would  have  been  a  sore  trial  to  them.  For 
the  present,  at  least,  it  was  safe  on  the  bottom  of 
the  lake,  though,  as  the  water  was  only  six  or  eight 
feet  deep,  the  machine  would  doubtless  be  saved  in 
the  end. 

Though  I  belonged  to  Centreport,  and  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Wimpleton  Institute,  I  could  not  find  it 
in  my  heart  to  rejoice  at  the  disaster  which  had  be- 
fallen the  Toppletonians.  I  was  too  much  interested 
in  the   dummy   to   cherish   any   ill-will   towards   the 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  95 

machine  or  its  owners.  I  wanted  to  see  it  work, 
and  I  could  not  help  envying  the  engineer  who  was 
to  enjoy  the  superlative  happiness  of  running  it. 
Such  a  position  would  have  suited  me,  and  I  was 
sorry  the  railroad  idea  had  not  originated  on  our 
side  of  the  lake.  I  wondered  what  Colonel  Wim- 
pleton  would  hring  forward  to  offset  this  novelty 
of  his  rival,  not  doubting  that  he  would  make  a 
desperate  effort  to  outdo  the  major. 

The  accident  filled  the  Toppletonians  with  dismay. 
They  had  been  yelling  with  excitement  and  delight 
while  laboring  at  the  skids  and  rigging;  but  now 
they  were  aghast  and  silent.  The  Ruoara  backed 
away  from  the  submerged  machine,  and  made  her 
landing  at  the  end  of  the  pier.  The  dummy  rested 
upright  upon  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  with  its  roof 
well  out  of  the  water.  I  hardly  took  my  eyes  off  of 
it  while  we  were  at  the  wharf,  and  I  only  wished  the 
task  of  putting  it  on  the  track  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad  had  fallen  on  me;  for  I  thought  I  saw  a 
plan  by  which   it  could  be  easily  accomplished. 

While  the  steamer  was  waiting  I  stepped  upon 
the  wharf,  and  mingled  with  the  crowd  of  dismayed 


96  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OB 

Toppletonians,  who  were  gazing  at  the  apparent  wreck 
of  all  their  hopes.  I  was  acquainted  with  a  few  of 
them ;  but  they  regarded  me  with  a  feeling  of  jeal- 
ousy and  hatred  which  I  am  happy  to  state  that  I 
did  not  share  with  them. 

"  Our  pipe  is  out,"  said  Tommy  Toppleton,  the 
only  son  of  the  major.  "It's  too  confounded  bad! 
I  meant  to  have  a   ride  in  that  car   by  to-morrow." 

"It's  not  so  bad  as  it  might  be,"  I  ventured  to 
remark. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  snapped  Tommy,  when  he  recog- 
nized me  as  a  Centreporter. 

"I  belong  on  the  other  side,  I  know;  but  I  was 
really  sorry  to  see  the  thing  go  overboard,"  I  added, 
gently  enough  to  disarm  the  wrath  of  the  patron's 
son. 

"  I  think  the  Wimpleton  fellows  will  feel  good 
over  this,"  continued  Tommy,  who,  if  he  had  not 
been  crestfallen  at  the  misfortune  of  his  clan,  would 
have  been  impudent  and  overbearing  to  a  plebeian 
like  me. 

"  I  supj)ose  they  will  feel  good ;  but  if  I  were  one 
of  your  fellows  I  would  not  let  them  enjoy  it  a  great 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  97 

while.  I  would  have  it  out  of  the  water  and  get 
up  steam  before  I  slept  upon  it,"  I  answered. 

"  What  would  you  do  ?  "  asked  Tommy,  curiously. 

"I  would  get  it  out  of  the  water  in  double-quick 
time,  and  then  put  her  through  by  daylight,  even  if 
it  took  me  all  night." 

"You  are  a  brick,  Wolf;  and  I  am  rather  sorry 
you  live  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,"  laughed  the 
scion  of  the  Middleport  house.  "  Do  you  think  you 
could  get  her  out  of  the  water  ? " 

"I  know  I  could." 

"  How  would  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  time  to  explain  it  now,"  I  replied, 
edging  towards  the  steamer. 

"  I  say,  Wolf,  people  think  you  know  all  about  an 
engine,  and  can  run  one  as  well  as  a  man,"  con- 
tinued Tommy,  following  me  to  the  boat. 

"  I  ran  a  locomotive  ten  miles  to-day." 

"Did  you,  though?" 

"  I  did  —  all  alone." 

"  Our  fellows  don't  want  a  man  for  an  engineer 
on  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad :  some  of  them  were 
talking  about  having  you  to  run  the  dummy  for  us." 
7 


98  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  them  for  thinking  of  me." 
"  It's  too  bad  you  live  on  the  other  side." 
I  thought  so  too,  as  the  bell  of  the  Ruoara  rang, 
and  I  stepped  on  board  of  her.  To  do  anything  for 
the  enemy  on  the  Middleport  side  would  be  to  give 
mortal  offence  to  Colonel  Wimpleton,  his  hopeful 
son,  and  all  the  students  of  the  Institute  in  Centre- 
port  ;  and  it  was  quite  out  of  the  question  for  me  to 
think  of  a  position  on  the  foot-board  of  the  dummy. 
I  would  have  given  anything  to  join  the  Topple- 
tonians,  against  whom  I  had  now  no  spite,  and  take 
part  in  the  operations  of  the  new  railroad;  and  I 
regarded  it  as  a  very  great  misfortune  that  the 
rivalry  between  the  two  places  prevented  me  from 
doing  so. 

The  Ruoara  left  the  wharf,  and  stood  across  the 
lake  towards  Centreport.  As  she  receded  from  the 
shore,  I  saw  Tommy  talking  to  his  father,  and  point- 
ing to  the  boat,  as  though  I  were  the  subject  of  the 
conversation.  I  do  not  know  what  either  of  them 
said ;  but  the  young  gentleman  doubtless  told  the 
patron  of  the  Toppletonians  that  I  considered  my- 
self able  to    extricate  the   dummy  from   her  present 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  9l> 

position.  I  was  a  very  modest  young  man  at  the 
time  of  which  I  write ;  but  years  have  enabled  me, 
in  some  measure,  to  conquer  the  feeling,  and  I  may 
now  say  that  I  had  a  splendid  reputation  as  an 
engineer,  for  a  boy.  I  do  not  know  that  I  was 
regarded  as  exactly  a  prodigy,  but  even  men  of  ability 
treated  me  with  great  kindness  and  consideration 
on  account  of  my  proficiency  in  matters  relating  to 
machinery.  It  seemed  quite  possible,  therefore,  that 
Major  Toppleton  did  not  regard  my  suggestion  of  a 
plan  to  extricate  the  dummy  as  a  mere  boyish  boast. 
Whether  he  did  or  did  not,  I  was  too  much 
oppressed  by  my  father's  misfortunes  to  think  of  the 
dummy  after  it  was  out  of  my  sight.  I  walked  aft, 
passing  through  the  gangway,  where  I  could  see  my 
unfortunate  parent.  He  looked  stern  and  forbidding, 
and  when  I  paused  at  the  door,  he  told  me  I  need 
not  stop  there.  I  did  not  think  he  had  been  drink- 
ing again,  and  I  felt  sure  that  he  would  not  long 
be  angry.  It  made  me  very  sad  to  think  that  he 
was  offended  with  me ;  but,  more  than  this,  I  dread- 
ed lest  he  should  fall  back  into  his  old  habits,  and 
become  a  drunkard. 


100  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

As  the  steamer  approached  the  Centreport  land- 
ing, I  was  startled  by  three  rousing  cheers.  On  the 
lawn,  which  faced  the  river  in  front  of  the  Wim- 
pleton  Institute,  were  assembled  all  the  students. 
Two  or  three  of  them  were  looking  through  field 
glasses  to  the  opposite  shore.  They  had  just  dis- 
covered the  nature  of  the  disaster  to  the  dummy, 
and  they  expressed  their  satisfaction  in  the  cheers 
which  I  heard.  It  was  mean  and  cowardly  to  rejoice 
in  the  misfortunes  of  others,  even  if  they  were  ene- 
mies ;  but  as  their  elders  expressed  themselves  in  this 
manner,  nothing  better  could  be  expected  of  them. 

I  went  ashore  when  the  boat  was  made  fast.  I 
noticed  that  several  people  looked  sharply  at  me, 
and  some  of  them  appeared  to  make  remarks  about 
me,  as  I  passed  through  the  crowd  up  the  wharf; 
but  so  completely  had  my  thoughts  been  absorbed 
by  the  affairs  of  my  father,  that  I  had  quite  for- 
gotten my  altercation  with  Mr.  Waddie  Wimpleton, 
and  I  did  not  connect  the  sharp  looks  and  the 
suppressed  remarks  bestowed  upon  me  with  that 
circumstance.  I  had  the  young  gentleman's  revolver 
in  my  pocket;    but  I  had   ceased  to  feel  its  weight 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  101 

or  to  think  of  it.  I  walked  up  the  wharf,  and 
hastened  to  the  cottage  of  my  father. 

"  Why,  Wolfert !  What  have  you  been  doing  ?  " 
exclaimed  my  mother,  as  I  entered  the  kitchen, 
where  she  was  at  work. 

"  Nothing  wrong,  I  hope,  mother,"  I  replied ;  ana! 
I  am  sure  my  long  face  and  sad  demeanor  were  not 
without  their  effect  upon  her. 

"  They  are  telling  awful  stories  about  you,  Wolfert," 
she  added. 

"Who  are?" 

"Everybody.     What  have  you  been  doing?" 

"  I  haven't  done  anything,  mother." 

"Didn't  you  take  the  powder  from  the  tool-house 
at  the  quarry,  and  blow  up  that  canal  boat  ?  "  gasped 
she,  horrified  that  I  should  be  even  accused  of  such 
wickedness. 

"  No,  mother ;   I  did  not.     Who  says  I  did  ?  " 

"Everybody  is  saying  so.  We  all  know  that  the 
canal  boat  was  blown  up ;  and  they  say  you  ran 
away  before  the  people  came." 

I  told  my  mother  the  whole  truth  in  regard  to 
the  canal  boat,  and  she  believed  me. 


102         THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"  Waddie  Wimpleton  says  you  did  it,  Wolfert," 
added  she. 

"  I  did  not  do  it,  and  did  not  know  anything 
about  it  till  the  explosion  took  place." 

"  They  all  say  you  must  have  done  it.  Waddie 
don't  deny  that  he  had  a  hand  in  it;  but  he  says 
you  planned  the  whole  thing,  and  he  gave  you  his 
revolver  for  doing  it." 

"  There  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it,  mothei\" 

"The  quarry  men  saw  you  and  Waddie  near  the 
mill  wharf,  just  before  the  explosion.  It  was  not  till 
they  had  told  their  story  that  Waddie  acknowledged 
he  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  He  says  it  was 
done  by  pulling  a  string ;  and  everybody  believes 
that  boy  hadn't  gumption  enough  to  blow  up  the 
canal  boat  without  blowing  himself  up  with  it. 
They  say  the  thing  was  well  done,  and  therefore 
you  must  have  done  it." 

This  was  flattering  to  my  pride,  disagreeable  as 
the  consequences  threatened  to  be.  People  believed 
I  was  guilty  because  I  had  the  reputation  of  being 
skilful  in  mechanical  contrivances  !  But  I  was  not 
anxious  to  rob  Waddie  of  any  of  his  honors  in  this 
affair. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  103 

"I  have  not  done  anything  wrong,  mother;  and  I 
am  "willing  to  take  the  consequences,  whatever  they 
are.  I  wish  this  was  the  only  thing  we  had  to  fear," 
I  said,  dreading  the  effect  upon  her  of  the  intelli- 
gence I  had  to  communicate  in  regard  to  my  father. 

"  Why,  what  else  have  we  to  fear  ?  "  asked  she, 
with  an  expression  of  alarm.  "  Where  is  youi 
father  ?  " 

"  He  has  gone  up  to  Hitaca  in  the  steamer." 

"What  has  he  gone  up  there  for?" 

"He  is  in  charge  of  the  engine  of  the  Ruoara." 

"  Where  is  Christy  Holgate  ?  " 

"  He  has  robbed  a  man  of  his  money,  and  run 
away." 

"  Christy ! " 

"  Yes,  mother ;  and  that  isn't  the  worst  of  it, 
either." 

"  Why,  what  do  you  mean,  Wolfert  ?  " 

"  Father  was  the  man  whom  he  robbed." 

"Why,  Wolfert!"  ejaculated  my  mother,  as  pale 
as  death. 

"  It  is  just  as  I  say,  mother ;  and  it  isn't  the 
worst  of  it,  either." 


104  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

"  O,  dear !  What  else  has  happened  ? "  she  de- 
manded, in  a  hoarse  whisper. 

"Father  has  taken  to  drinking  again,"  I  replied; 
and,  no  longer  able  to  restrain  my  emotions,  I  burst 
into  tears. 

"  Merciful  Heaven  !  That  is  worse  than  all  the 
rest !  "  exclaimed  she,  covering  her  face  with  her 
apron,  and  weeping  bitterly  with  me. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  105 


CHAPTER  X. 

COLONEL    WIMPLETON    AND    SON. 

Y  mother  wept  as  she  thought  of  the  past, 
L  and  dreaded  the  future.  It  would  have  been 
comparatively  easy  to  endure  the  loss  of  the  twenty- 
four  hundred  dollars;  but  it  was  intolerable  to  think 
of  the  misery  of  again  being  a  drunkard's  wife.  All 
else  was  as  nothing  to  her  beside  this  awful  pros- 
pect. My  father  had  struggled  with  his  besetting 
and  his  besotting  sin  for  five  years,  and  with  hard- 
ly an  exception  had  always  been  the  conqueror. 
During  this  period  he  had  prospered  in  his  world- 
ly affairs,  and  till  this  day  of  disaster  the  future 
seemed  to  be  secure  to  him. 

My  mother  told  me  I  had  done  right  in  emptying 
the  bottle,  and  assured  me  that  my  father  would 
not  long  cherish  his  anger.  She  knew  not  what  to 
do  in  order  to  turn  the  tide  which  had  set  against 


106  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

us.  If  the  sheriff  succeeded  in  arresting  Christy, 
and  securing  the  money  he  had  stolen,  the  effect 
upon  my  father  would  be  good.  If  the  money  was 
lost,  we  feared  that  father  would  be  lost  with  it. 

While  we  were  talking  about  the  sad  prospect 
before  us,  an  imperative  knock  was  heard  at  the 
front  door  —  a  summons  so  loud  and  stately  that 
we  could  hardly  fail  to  identify  the  person  even 
before  we  saw  his  face.  My  mother  wi])ed  away 
her  bitter  tears,  and  hastened  to  the  door. 

"  Has  your  son  come  home  ?  "  demanded  Colonel 
Wimpleton,  in  his  abrupt  and  offensive  manner, 
when  he  spoke  to  his  social  inferiors,  as  he  re- 
garded them. 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  has,"  replied  my  mother,  with  fear 
and  trembling  before  the  magnate  of  Centreport. 

Without  further  ceremony,  or  any  ceremony,  — 
for  he  had  used  none,  —  he  stalked  into  the  kitchen 
where  I  sat.  He  was  followed  by  his  hopeful  scion, 
who  looked  quite  as  magnificent  as  his  stately 
father. 

"  So  you  have  come  home,  you  young  villain ! " 
said  the  colonel,  fixing  a  savage  gaze  upon  me. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  107 

"  I  have  come  home  ;  bat  I  am  not  a  villain,  sir," 
I  replied,  with  what  dignity  I  could  command. 

"  Don't  contradict  me.     I  say  you  are  a  villain." 

"Your  saying  so  don't  make  it  so,"  I  answered, 
desperately;  for  I  was  goaded  almost  to  despair  by 
the  misfortunes  of  the  day ;  and  though  at  any  other 
time  I  should  have  been  as  meek  as  a  nursing  dove, 
I  felt  like  defending  myself  from  the  charges  he  was 
about  to  make. 

"Don't  be  impudent  to  me,  young  man,"  scowled 
he.     "  You  know  me,  and  you  know  what  I  am." 

"I  know  what  you  are,"  I  added,  significantly; 
and  I  was  astonished  at  my  own  boldness. 

He  looked  at  me  savagely,  apparently  trying  to 
determine  what  construction  to  put  upon  my  re- 
mark. Waddie  stood  at  his  side,  quite  self-pos- 
sessed, considering  the  wicked  deed  he  had  done. 
His  presence  reminded  me  of  the  revolver  I  had 
in  my  pocket,  and  I  took  it  out  and  presented  it 
to  him. 

"  Here  is  your  revolver,  "Waddie.  I  did  not  in- 
tend to  keep  it,  when  I  took  it,"  said  I. 

"I  don't  want  it.     It  is  yours  now,"  replied   he, 


108  THB0UGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

declining  to  take  the  weapon.  "I  gave  it  to  you 
for  the  job  you  did  for  me,  and  I  am  not  going 
to  back  out  now." 

"  Take  it,  Waddie,"  interposed  his  father.  "  Such 
a  trade  is  not  legal  or  binding." 

"  I'm  not  going  to  take  it,"  replied  the  hopeful, 
stoutly.  "  It  was  a  fair  trade,  and  it  would  hot  be 
honorable  for  me  to  back  out." 

"  Give  it  to  me,  then,"  added  the  colonel. 

I  gave  it  to  him,  and  he  put  it  in  his  pocket,  in 
spite  of  the  protest  of  Waddie. 

"Now,  Wolf,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  the  truth," 
continued  Colonel  Wimpleton. 

"  I  will  do  so,  sir." 

"  You  persuaded  my  boy  to  blow  up  that  canal 
boat." 

"No,  sir.     I  did  not." 

"I  didn't  say  he  persuaded  me  to  do  it,  father," 
interrupted  the  son. 

"You  wouldn't  have  done  such  a  thing  as  that 
unless  somebody  put  you  up  to  it,  Waddie,"  pro- 
tested the  fond  father,  who  had  been  obliged  to 
make   the    same    statement    fifty  times    before,   and 


.THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  109 

remained  obstinately  incredulous  in  regard  to  his 
son's  capacity  to  do  mischief  up  to  the  present  time. 

"Yes,  I  would,  father;  and  I  am  only  sorry  the 
skipper  of  the  canal  boat  was  not  on  board  when 
she  went  up.  Didn't  I  say  he  insulted  me!  Didn't 
I  tell  you  he  shook  me,  kicked  me,  cuffed  me,  and 
then  chucked  me  on  the  wharf,  as  though  I  had 
been  a  dead  cat!  When  a  man  insults  me,  he  has 
to  pay  for  it,"  said  Waddie,  shaking  his  head  to 
emphasize  his  strong  declarations. 

"Yes;  and  I  shall  have  to  pay  for  it  too,"  mut- 
tered the  colonel,  who  felt  very  much  as  the  man 
did  who  had  to  pay  his  wife's  fine  after  he  had 
prosecuted  her  for  an  assault  upon  himself. 

"  No  matter  for  that ;  I  am  revenged,"  added 
Waddie,  coolly.  "I  only  said  that  Wolf  showed 
me  how  to  do  it,  and  pulled  the  string  when  all 
was  ready." 

"That's  enough,"  replied  the  father. 

I  understood  the  magnate  of  Centreport  well 
enough  to  comprehend  his  position.  He  was  quite 
willing  to  pay  a  couple  of  thousand  dollars  for  the 
destruction   of   the    canal    boat ;    but    he   was   very 


110  THEOTJGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

loath  to  have  the  Centreporters  believe,  what  was 
literally  the  truth,  that  Waddie  Wimpleton  was  the 
worst  and  most  evil-disposed  boy  in  the  whole  town. 
While  he  did  not  attempt  to  discipline  and  control 
his  vicious  heir,  he  was  exceedingly  jealous  of  the 
youth's  reputation.  He  wished  to  have  me  confess 
that  I  had  had  a  finger  in  this  pie  of  mischief.  My 
character  stood  high  in  town,  Tor  I  had  tried  to  be- 
have like  a  gentleman  on  all  occasions.  If  I  shared 
the  blame  with  the  colonel's  hopeful,  he  was  willing 
to  pay  all  costs  and  damages.  I  really  believe,  if  I 
could  have  assumed  the  entire  odium  of  the  wicked 
deed,  the  magnate  would  have  been  willing  to  pay 
for  the  boat,  and  give  me  a  thousand  dollars  be- 
sides. In  fact,  I  knew  of  one  instance  in  which  a 
boy  of  bad  habits  had  been  indirectly  paid  for  tak- 
ing upon  his  own  shoulders  the  blame  that  belonged 
upon  Waddie's. 

"I  had  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  blowing  up  the 
canal  boat,  Colonel  Wimpleton,"  I  replied.  "I  knew 
nothing  about  it  till  the  explosion  took  place." 

"  You  deny  it  —  do  you  ? "  demanded  the  mag- 
nate, sharply. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  Ill 

"  I  do,  sir ;  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"  How  dare  you  lie  to  me  ?  As  Waddie  was  con- 
cerned in  the  affair,  I  don't  mind  paying  for  the 
boat,  and  I  suppose  that  will  be  the  end  of  the 
scrape ;  but  I  know  my  boy  wouldn't  do  such  a 
thing  without  some  help." 

"I  didn't  help  him,"  I  protested,  warmly. 

"  Didn't  you  pull  1!he  string  ?  "  demanded  Waddie, 
with  the  most  unblushing  effrontery. 

"No,  I  did  not." 

"  Didn't  you  have  hold  of  the  string  when  the 
boat  went  up?"   persisted  the  young  villain. 

"I  did,  but  —  " 

"There,  father,  he  owns  up  to  all  I  ask  him  to 
confess,"  interposed  Waddie. 

"  I  own  up  to  nothing,"  I  replied,  indignantly.  "  I 
say  again,  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  explosion, 
and  knew  nothing  about  it  till  the  boat  blew  up." 

"What  do  you  mean,  you  young  rascal?"  stormed 
the  colonel.  "  One  moment  you  say  you  had  hold 
of  the  string,  and  the  next  that  you  knew  nothing 
about  it." 

"If  you  wish  me  to  explain  the  matter,  I  will  do 


112  THKOTTGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

so;  if  not,  I  won't,"  I  added,  disgusted  with  the 
evident  intention  of  the  magnate  to  convict  mo, 
whether  guilty  or  not. 

"Will  you  confess  that  you  had  a  hand  in  the 
mischief?" 

"  No,  I  will  not." 

"  But,  you  young  rascal  —  " 

"  I  am  not  a  rascal,  Colonel  Wimpleton.  If 
either  of  us  is  a  rascal,  you  are  the  one,  not  I,"  I 
continued,  goaded  to  desperation  by  his  injustice. 

"  What ! "  gasped  the  great  man,  confounded  at 
my  boldness. 

"  I  say  just  what  I  mean.  Waddie  knows,  as 
well  as  I  do,  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  blowing 
up  the  canal  boat,  and  if  he  was  a  decent  fellow  he 
would  say  so." 

"Don't  be  rash,  Wolfert,"  interposed  my  mother, 
alarmed  at  my  temerity. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  them,  mother." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  I'm  not  a  decent  fellow  ? " 
howled  Waddie. 

"  I  did  say  so,  and  I  meant  to  say  so.  You  know 
that  you  lie  when  you  say  I  had  anything  to  do 
with  blowing  up  the  boat." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEK.  113 

"Do  you  tell  me  I  lie?" 

"  I  do ;  I  tell  you  so  with  all  my  might,"  I  per- 
sisted, boldly. 

"  We'll  see  about  this,"  said  Colonel  Wimpleton, 
furiously.  "  Mrs.  Penniman,  your  boy  is  impudent  — 
impudent  to  me,  and  to  my  son." 

"You  accuse  him  of  something  he  didn't  do,  and 
won't  hear  what  he  has  to  say,"  replied  my  mother, 
meekly. 

"  Accuse  him  of  what  he  didn't  do !  Didn't  he 
say  he  had  hold  of  the  string?  "Wolf  had  the 
pistol,  too,  and  that  proves  the  truth  of  what  Wad- 
die  said.  How  came  you  by  the  pistol?"  de- 
manded  the   magnate,    turning  fiercely  to  me. 

"  I  took  it  away  from  Waddie  when  he  threat- 
ened to  shoot  me  with  it,  and  after  he  had  fired 
one  ball  at  me." 

"  Do  you  want  to  make  it  out  that  my  boy  in- 
tended to  murder  you  ?  Once  more,  will  you  con- 
fess to  me,  or  will  you  have  it  proved  before  a 
justice?  " 

"  I  don't  care  where  you  prove  it ;  but  I  shall 
not  confess  what  I  didn't  do." 


114  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

"  My  son  speaks  the  truth,  Mrs.  Penniman,  though 
he  may  be  a  little  wild  sometimes." 

"There  isn't  a  bigger  liar  in  town,"  said  I,  very 
imprudently. 

"  Do  you  hear  that,  maim  ?  "  snapped  the  colonel. 
"Didn't  my  son  confess  that  he  had  a  hand  in  the 
mischief?  Doesn't  that  show  that  he  is  a  truthful 
boy  ?  Wolf  is  violent  and  abusive.  I  have  done 
what  I  could  for  your  family,  Mrs.  Penniman." 

"  I  know  you  have,  Mr.  Wirnpleton,  and  we 
are  all  very  grateful  to  you,"  replied  my  trembling 
mother. 

"  I  should  think  you  were !  You  permit  this 
young  rascal  to  insult  and  abuse  me  and  my  son. 
He  calls  me  a  rascal,  and  my  son  a  liar.  Is  that 
his  gratitude  ? "  continued  the  much-abused  great 
man.  "You  will  hear  from  me  again,  Mrs.  Penni- 
man." 

"And  you  will  hear  from  me  again,  Wolf  Penni- 
man. I  don't  allow  any  fellow  to  call  me  a  liar," 
added  Waddie,  bristling  up  like  a  bantam  rooster. 

"You  j)ermit  this  young  cub  to  insult  and  abuse 
me,"  persisted  the  magnate,  as  he  bolted  out  of  the 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  115 

front  door,  followed  by  his  hopeful,  who  could  not 
help  shaking  his  fist  at  me  as  he  went  out. 

"  What  have  you  done,  Wolf? "  exclaimed  my 
mother,  when  they  had  gone. 

"  I  have  spoken  the  truth,  like  a  man,"  I  replied, 
though  I  trembled  for  the  consequences  of  my  bold 
speech  to  the  great  man. 

"  He  will  discharge  your  father ;  and,  now  the 
money  is  gone,  he  will  turn  us  out  of  house  and 
home,"  added  my  mother,  beginning  to  cry  again. 

"  I  can't  help  it.  I  have  only  told  the  truth,  and 
I  am  not  going  to  cower  before  that  man  and  that 
boy  any  longer." 

I  took  my  cap  and  left  the  house. 


116  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT  OB 


CHAPTER  XI. 

BETTEE  THOUGHTS  AND  DEEDS. 

I  LEFT  the  house  more  to  conceal  my  own  emo- 
tions than  for  any  other  reason.  I  had  been 
imprudent.  My  father  was  not  only  dependent  upon 
Colonel  Wimpleton  for  the  excellent  situation  he 
held,  which  had  enabled  him  to  live  well,  Jo  give 
me  a  good  education,  and  to  save  money  to  buy 
his  place,  though  there  was  a  mortgage  on  the  little 
estate  that  would  expire  in  a  few  days.  So  far  as 
liberality  in  financial  matters  was  concerned,  no  one 
could  find  any  fault  with  the  magnate  of  Centreport. 
I  was  accused  of  a  crime  —  not  merely  of  a  piece 
of  mischief,  -as  the  colonel  was  pleased  to  regard  it, 
but  of  a  crime  whose  penalty  was  imprisonment. 
By  merely  admitting  the  truth  of  the  charge,  I 
could  escape  all  disagreeable  consequences,  and  retain 
for  my  father,  and   myself  the   favor   of  the  mighty 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  117 

man  in  whose  smile  we  had  prospered  and  grown 
rich.  Doubtless,  in  the  worldly  sense,  L  had  been 
very  imprudent.  It  would  have  been  safer  for  me 
not  to  deny  the  accusation,  and  not  to  resent  the 
hard  names  applied  to  me. 

As  a  matter  of  policy,  I  had  always  permitted 
Waddie  to  have  his  own  way  in  his  dealings  with 
me.  If  he  ordered  me  to  do  anything,  I  did  it.  If 
he  called  me  names,  I  did  not  retort  upon  him.  It 
galled  me  sorely  to  permit  the  puppy  to  ride  over 
me  in  this  manner ;  to  be  insulted,  kicked,  and 
cuffed  at  his  royal  pleasure ;  but  while  it  was  sim- 
ply a  sacrifice  of  personal  pride,  or  even  of  self- 
respect,  it  did  not  so  much  matter.  When,  how- 
ever, Waddie  and  his  father  wished  to  brand  me  as 
a  criminal,  and  to  browbeat  me  because  I  would 
not  confess  myself  guilty  of  a  deed  in  which  I  had 
no  hand,  my  nature  revolted.  In  my  indignation, 
I  had  made  use  of  some  expressions  which  I  had 
better  not  have  used,  and  which  I  should  not  have 
used  if  I  had  not  been  suffering  under  the  weight 
of  that  sad  day's  trials. 

I  did  not  care  for  myself  under  the  displeasure  of 


118  THEOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

the  mighty  man.  My  mother  was  a  timid  woman, 
and  the  cloud  of -misfortunes,  which  was  rising  over 
us  filled  her  with  dismay.  The  displeasure  of  Colo- 
nel Wimpleton,  the  loss  of  the  money,  and  above, 
all  the  fear  that  my  father  would  return  to  his  old 
habits,  were  terrors  enough  for  one  day,  and  I  wept 
for  her.  But  what  could  I  do?  To  confess  myself 
guilty  of  a  crime  when  I  was  innocent,  was  the 
greatest  wrong  I  could  do  to  her  and  to  myself.  I 
would  not  do  that,  whatever  else  I  did ;  and  there 
was  no  other  way  to  win  back  the  favor  of  the 
colonel. 

After  I  had  cooled  off,  I  returned  to  the  house, 
and  found  my  mother  more  calm  than  I  expected. 
She  had  resumed  her  work;  but  she  looked  very 
sad  and  troubled.  My  two  sisters  had  gone  to  the 
village,  and  as  yet  knew  nothing  of  the  misfortunes 
that  were  settling  down  upon  our  house. 

"  WolfertJ[  am  sorry  you  were  so  rash,"  said  my 
mother,  as  I  seated  myself  in  the  kitchen. 

"I  am  sorry  myself;  but  I  don't  think  it  would 
have  made  any  difference  with  the  colonel  if  I  had 
been  as  gentle  as  a  lamb,"  I  replied. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  119 

"Perhaps  it  would." 

"The  colonel  wished  me  to  take  upon  my  shoul- 
ders the  blame,  or  part  of  it,  of  blowing  up  the 
canal  boat.  Nothing  less  than  that  would  have  sat- 
isfied him.  You  can't  wonder  that  I  was  mad,  after 
what  you  heard  him  say  to  me.  I  have  eaten  dirt 
before  the  colonel  and  his  son  for  years,  and  1  don't 
think  we  have  made  anything  by  it;  but  whether 
we  have  or  not,  I  won't  be  called  a  villain  and  a 
scoundrel,  or  confess  a  thing  I  didn't  do." 

"Mr.  Wimpleton  is  a  very  powerful  man  in  Cen- 
treport,"  added  my  mother,  shaking  her  head  in 
deprecation  of  any  rash  steps. 

"  I  know  he  is,  mother ;  and  I  will  do  anything 
I  can  to  please  him,  except  sell  my  own  soul ;  and 
he  hasn't  got  money  enough  to  buy  that.  I'm  not 
going  to  put  my  nose  into  the  dirt  for  him." 

"He  may  ruin  us,- Wolfert." 

"What  can  he   do?" 
•     "  He  can  discharge  your  father." 

"Father  can  get  as  much  wages  in  another  place 
as  he  can  here.  Perhaps  he  will  be  wanted  on  the 
Ruoara  now  Christy  has  run  away." 


120  THROUGH   BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

"But  his  house  is  here,  and  he  meant  to  stay  in 
Centreport.  Besides,  Mr.  Wimpleton  can  turn  us 
out  of  the  house  if  we  don't  pay  the  money,  which 
will  be  due  in  a  few  days." 

"I  hope  Mr.  Mortimer  will  catch  Christy,  and 
get  the  money.  If  he  don't,  there  is  a  man  in  town 
who  offered  thirty-five  hundred  dollars  for  the  place ; 
and  that  is  more  than  it  cost,  and  father  won't  lose 
anything." 

"You  don't  know  Mr.  Wimpleton,  Wolfert.  He 
is  a  terrible  man  when  he  is  offended.  If  the  place 
were  sold  at  auction,  as  it  would  be,  he  has  influ- 
ence enough  to  prevent  any  one  from  bidding  on 
it ;  and  your  father  might  lose  every  cent  he  has 
left  in  the   world." 

"  What  would  you  have  me  do,  mother  ? "  I  asked, 
rising  from  my  chair,  considerably  excited.  "  Shall 
I  say  that  I  helped  Waddie  blow  up  the  canal 
boat  ? " 

"No,  certainly  not,  Wolfert,  unless  you  did  help 
him." 

"Do  you  think  I  did,  mother?" 

"No,  I  can't  think  so,  after  what  you  have  said." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  121 

"  I  had  nothing  more  to  do  with  it  than  you 
had." 

"  But  you  can  be  a  little  more  gentle  with  him." 

"And  let  him  browbeat  and  bully  me  as  much 
as  he  pleases?  I  think,  mother,  if  I  stand  up  square- 
ly for  my  own  rights,  he  will  respect  me  all  the 
more.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  about  tired  of  Cen- 
treport ;  for  all  the  people  bow  down  and  toady 
to  Colonel  Wimpleton.  If  he  takes  snuff  every- 
body sneezes.  All  the  fellows  treat  Waddie  as 
though  he  were  a  prince  of  the  blood.  I  have  been 
ashamed  and  disgusted  with  myself  a  hundred  times 
after  I  have  let  him  bully  me,  and  put  his  foot  on 
my  neck.  I  have  been  tempted  to  thrash  him,  a 
dozen  times,  for  his  impudence ;  and  if  I  didn't  do 
so,  it  was  not  because   I  didn't  want  to." 

"You  must  try  to  have  a  Christian  spirit,  Wol- 
fert,"  said  my  mother,  mildly. 

"  I  do  try  to  have  a  Christian  spirit,"  mother.  I 
haven't  anything  against  Waddie  or  his  father.  If 
I  could  do  a  kindness,  to  either  one  of  them  this 
minute,  I  would  do  it.  But  I  don't  think  a  fellow 
must  be  a  milksop  in  order   to    be    a    Christian.     I 


122  THROUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

don't  think  the  gospel  requires  me  to  be  a  toady, 
or  even  to  submit  to  injustice  when  I  can  help  my- 
self. I  don't  ask  to  be  revenged,  or  anything  of 
that  sort ;  I  only  desire  to  keep  my  head  out  of  the 
dirt.  I  am  going  to  try  to  be  a  man,  whatever  hap- 
pens to  me." 

"  If  you  will  only  be  a  Christian,  Wolfert,  I  can 
ask  no  more." 

"I  will  try  to  be;  but  do  you  think  yourself, 
mother,  that  I  ought  to  stand  still  and  allow  myself 
to  be  kicked?" 

"You  must  not  provoke  your  enemies." 

"I  will  not,  if  I  can  help  it;  but  I  think  it  is 
pretty  hard  to  keep  still  when  you  are  called  a  ras- 
cal and  a  villain.  If  you  think  I  ought  to  confess 
that  I  helped  blow  up  the  canal  boat  when  I  did 
not,  I   will  —  " 

I  was  going  to  say  I  would  do  it,  but  the  words 
choked  me,  and  I  could  not  utter  them. 

"  I  don't  wish  you  to  say  so,  Wolfert." 

"  Then  I  am  satisfied  ;  and  I  will  try  to  be  gentle 
while  they  abuse  me." 

At    this    moment  Waddie   Wimpleton  bolted  into 


THE   YOUNG-   ENGINEER.  123 

the  room,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  announce 
himself  beforehand. 

"  My  father  says  you  must  come  up  and  see  him 
at  once,"  said  the  scion,  in  his  usual  bullying  and 
offensive  tone. 

"  Where  is  he  ? "  I  asked,  as  quietly  as  I  could 
speak,  under  the  influence  of  my  good  mother's 
lesson. 

"  At  the  house.  Where  do  you  suppose  he  is  ?  " 
pouted  Waddie.  "And  he  says,  if  you  don't  come, 
he'll  send  a  constable  after  you." 

"What  does  be  want  of  me?" 

"None  of  your  business  what  he  wants.  All 
you've  got  to  do  is  to  go." 

"If  I  conclude  to  go,  I  will  be  there  in  a  few 
moments,"  I  added. 

"  If  you  conclude  to  go ! "  exclaimed  Waddie. 
"  Well,  that  is  cool !  Do  you  mean  to  say  you 
won't  go  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  mean  to  say  that." 

"  Well,  I  want  to  know  whether  you  are  going 
or  not,"  demanded  the  scion. 

"Shall  I  go,  mother?"  I  asked,  appealing  to  her. 


124  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"  I  think  you  had  better   go,  Wolfert." 

"Then  I  will   go." 

"You  had  better,"  continued  Waddle,  who  could 
not  help  bullying  even  after  his  point  was  gained. 

The  gentlemanly  young  man  left  the  house,  and  my 
mother  admonished  me  again  not  to  be  saucy,  and 
to  return  good  for  evil.  I  hoped  I  should  be  able 
to  do  so.  If  I  failed  it  would  not  be  for  the  want 
of  a  good  intention.  I  walked  up  the  road  towards 
the  mansion  of  the  great  man,  thinking  what  I 
should"  say,  and  how  I  could  best  defend  myself 
from  the  charge  which  was  again  to  be  urged 
against  me.  The  situation  looked  very  hopeless 
to  me  as  I  jumped  over  the  fence  in  the  grove, 
through  which  there  was  a  path  which  led  to  the 
house  of  the  colonel. 

"Here  he  is,"  said  Waddie,  accompanying  the 
remark  with  a  yell  not  unlike  an  Indian  war-whoop. 

I  halted  and  turned  around.  Behind  me  stood 
the  scion  of  the  great  house  of  Centreport,  with  a 
club  in  his  hand,  and  attended  by  half  a  dozen  of 
the  meanest  fellows  of  the  Institute,  armed  in  like 
manner.    They  had  been  concealed  behind  the  fence ; 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  125 

and  of  course  I  instantly  concluded  that  the  colo- 
nel's message  was  a  mere  trick  to  decoy  me  into 
the  grove. 

"  Do  you  wish  to  see  mo  ?  "  I  asked,  as  coolly  as 
I  could;  and  the  circumstances  under  which  we 
appeared  to  meet  were  not  favorable  to  a  frigid 
demeanor. 

"Yes,  I  want  to  see  you,"  replied  Waddie,  mov- 
ing up  to  me,  and  flourishing  his  stick.  "  You  must 
settle  my  account  before  you  see  my  governor." 

"What  do  you  want  of  me  ? "  I  demanded,  as  I 
edged  up  to  a  big  tree,  which  would  protect  me 
from  an  assault  in  the  rear. 

"You  told  my  father  I  was  the  biggest  liar  in 
town,"  blustered  Waddie.  "I'm  going  to  give  you 
the  biggest  licking  for  it  you  ever  had  in  your  life." 

"  Go  in,  Waddie !  "  shouted  Sam  Peppors.  "  We'll 
stand  by,  and  see  fair  play." 

"Are  you  ready  to  take  your  licking?"  bullied 
Waddie,  who  did  not  seem  to  be  quite  ready  to  com- 
mence the  operation. 

"  No,  I  am  not,"  I  answered,  quietly ;  and  I  never 
spoke  truer  words  in  my  life. 


126         THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"You  called  me  the  biggest  liar  in  town  —  didn't 
you  ?  " 

«I  did." 

"  Have  you  anything  to  say  about  it  ? " 

"I  have,"  I  replied,  still  moved  by  the  gentle 
words  of  gospel  wisdom  which  my  mother  had 
spoken  to  me. 

"  If  you  have,  say  it   quick." 

"  I  was  angry  when  I  spoke  the  words,  and  I  am 
sorry  for  uttering  them." 

"  Ha,  ha !  humph !  "  yelled  the  half-dozen  ruffians 
in  concert. 

"  Get  down  on  your  knees  and  beg  my  pardon, 
then,"  said  Waddie. 

"No>  I  will  not  do  that,"  I  replied,  firmly. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEK.  127 


CHAPTER  XII. 


WOLFS   EOETKESS. 


"T~HTNDER  the  influence  of  the  better  thoughts 
V_y  which  my  good  mother  had  suggested  to  me, 
I  was  willing  to  do  better  deeds.  I  was  ready  to 
apologize;  I  had  done  so,  but  I  could  not  go  down 
upon  my  knees  before  such  a  fellow  as  Waddie  Wim- 
pleton,  or  any  fellow,  for  that  matter.  It  was  hard 
enough  for  me  to  say  I  was  sorry;  and  I  had  done 
so  for  my  mother's  sake,  rather  than  my  own. 

"I  don't  think  you  are  very  sorry  for  what  you 
said,"  sneered  Waddie. 

"I  am  sorry  enough  to  apologize.  I  really  regret 
that  I  made  use  of  any  hard  expressions,"  I  replied. 

"  Then  get  down  on  your  knees,  and  beg  my 
pardon,  as  I  tell  you,"  persisted  Waddie,  flourishing 
his  stick.  "  If  you  do,  I'll  let  you  off  on  part  of  the 
punishment." 


328  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"  I  apologized  because  I  had  done  wrong,  and  not 
because  I  was  afraid  of  the  punishment,"  I  added, 
still  schooling  my  tongue  to  gentle  speech. 

"  Humph !  "  exclaimed  the  scion  ;  and  my  remark 
was  based  on  a  philosophy  so  subtile  that  he  could 
not  comprehend  it. 

"  Go  in !  Go  in  !  Give  it  to  him  !  "  shouted  the 
supporting  ruffians.     "  He's  fooling  you,  Waddie." 

"  If  you  are  not  going  to  do  what  I  tell  you,  look 
out  for  the  consequences,"  blustered  tbe  young  gen- 
tleman, who  still  seemed  to  have  some  doubts  in 
regard  to  the  prudence  of  his  present  conduct. 

"Waddie  Wimpleton,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  now  ? "  demanded  he, 
dropping  his  weapon  again. 

"If  you  strike  me  with  that  stick  you  must  look 
out  for  consequences.  I  shall  defend  myself  as  well 
as  I  know  how." 

Waddie  glanced  at  his  companions. 

"  Hit  him !  What  are  you  waiting  for  ?  "  cried  his 
friends;  and  I  have  always  observed,  in  such  cases, 
that  it  is  easier  to  give  advice  than  to  strike  the 
blow. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  129 

Mr.  "Waddie  had  placed  himself  in  a  position  which 
he  could  not  well  evacuate.  He  evidently  had  no 
heart  for  the  encounter  which  he  foresaw  must  take 
place  if  he  struck  me,  and  perhaps  he  had  not  entire 
confidence  in  the  character  of  the  support  which  he 
was  to  receive.  At  any  rate  he  could  not  help  real- 
izing that  the  first  blows  of  the  battle  were  likely 
to  be  dealt  upon  his  own  head. 

"  You  called  me  a  liar,"  said  he,  working  up  his 
courage  again  by  a  new  recital  of  his  wrongs. 

"I  did,  and  apologized  for  it,"  I  replied. 

"  Go  down  on  your  knees,  then,  and  say  you  are 
sorry." 

"I  will  not." 

"  Then  mind  your  eye,"  continued  "Waddie,  as 
with  a  sudden  spring  he  hit  me  on  the  arm,  which 
I  raised  to  ward  off  the  blow. 

I  did  mind  my  eye,  and  I  minded  his,  too;  for, 
before  he  could  bring  up  his  supports,  I  leaped  upon 
him.  Though  he  was  of  my  own  size  and  age,  he 
was  only  a  baby  in  my  hands.  I  grasped  his  stick, 
wrenched  and  twisted  it  a  few  times,  and  then  threw 
him  over  backwards  into  a  pool  of  soft  mud,  which 
9 


130  THROUGH  BT  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

I  had  chosen  to  flank  my  position,  and  save  me  from 
an  attack  in  the  rear.  He  was  half  buried  in  the 
soft  compound  of  black  mud  and  decayed  leaves 
which  filled  the  hole,  and  his  good  clothes  suffered 
severely  from  the  effects  of  his  disaster. 

The  moment  the  conflict  commenced  the  supports 
moved  up  ;  but,  before  they  could  come  into  action, 
I  had  overthrown  my  assailant,  and  stood  against 
the  tree  with  the  club  in  my  hand.  When  Waddie 
went  over  backwards,  a  new  duty  seemed  to  be  sug- 
gested to  his  backers ;  and,  instead  of  turning  on  me, 
they  proceeded  to  help  their  principal  out  of  his 
uncomfortable  position.  Encouraged  and  thoroughly 
waked  up  by  my  victory,  I  think  I  could  have 
thrashed  the  whole  party;  but  I.  had  not  wholly 
escaped  the  influence  of  my  mother's  teachings,  and 
was  disposed  to  act  strictly  in  self-defence. 

The  quagmire  into  which  Waddie  had  fallen  was 
near  the  bank  of  the  brook  which  meandered  through 
the  grove,  and  which  had  been  bridged  in  several 
places,  as  well  to  add  to  the  convenience  of  passers- 
by  as  to  increase  the  picturesque  beauty  of  the  place. 
I  deemed  it  best  to  retreat  to  one  of  these  bridges, 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  131 

which  was  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  and  which 
would  enable  me  to  defend  myself  from  an  assault 
to  the  best  advantage. 

"  Humph  !  you  cowards  ! "  snarled  Waddie,  as  his 
companions  lifted  him  out  of  the  slough,  and  he  spit 
out  the  mud  and  water  which  filled  his  mouth. 
"  Why  didn't  you  stand  by  me,  as  you  promised  ? " 

"  We  expected  you  to  make  a  better  fight  than 
that,"  replied  one  of  them;  and  it  was  doubtful  to 
me  whether  they  could  assign  any  good  reason  why 
they  had  not  stood  by  him. 

"I  did  the  best  I  could,  and  you  did  not  come 
near  me.  I'm  in  a  pretty  pickle,"  sputtered  Waddie, 
as  he  glanced  at  his  soiled  garments. 

"We'll  give  it  to  him  yet,"  said  one  of  the  party, 
as  he  glanced  at  me,  securely  posted  on  the  bridge. 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  Waddie. 

I  was  pointed  out  to  him,  and  the  sight  of  me 
inflamed  all  his  zeal  again. 

"  Come  on,  fellows ;  and  stand  by  me  this  time.  I 
wish  I  had  my  revolver  here." 

I  was  very  glad  he  had  not  that  formidable  weapon 
about   him,  though  I   don't  think  he   could  have  hit 


132  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OK 

me  if  he  had  fired  at  me ;  but  he  sometimes  struck 
the  mark  by  accident.  Waddie  took  a  club  from  the 
hand  of  one  of  his  supporters,  and  rushed  towards 
the  bridge.  Though  he  was  not  a  master  of  strategy, 
he  could  not  help  seeing  that  I  was  well  posted,  and 
he  halted  suddenly  before  he  reached  the  brook. 

"We  must  drive  him  from  the  bridge,  where  we 
can  have  fair  play,"  said  "Waddie. 

I  did  not  just  then  see  how  this  was  to  be  done; 
but  I  was  soon  able  to  perceive  his  plan.  The  scion 
led  his  forces  to  a  position  on  the  brook  above  me, 
and,  taking  some  stones  from  the  shallow  stream, 
began  to  pelt  me  with  a  vigor  which  soon  rendered 
my  place  untenable.  Several  of  the  missiles  hit  me, 
though  I  was  not  much  hurt  by  them.  Under  these 
circumstances,  I  was  helpless  for  defensive  purposes, 
for  I  had  nothing  with  which  to  return  the  fire.  It 
was  useless  for  me  to  stand  there,  and  be  peppered 
with  stones.  I  concluded  to  retreat  in  good  order, 
and  brought  myself  off  without  any  material  damage. 

The  only  safe  line  by  which  I  could  retire  was  in 
the  direction  of  the  mansion  of  Colonel  Wimpleton. 
I    crossed    the    brook  farther  down,   and   came  to  a 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  133 

rustic  summer  house,  on  the  bank  of  the  stream. 
It  was  built  on  a  high  foundation,  to  afford  a  pros- 
pect of  the  lake,  and  the  only  admission  was  through 
the  door,  which  was  reached  by  a  long  flight  of 
steps.  I  immediately  took  possession  of  this  struc- 
ture, assured  that  I  could  defend  the  door,  while  its 
walls  would  protect  me  from  the  missiles  of  my 
assailants. 

Waddie  led  his  forces  up  to  my  fortress,  and  sur- 
veyed the  situation.  They  attempted  to  drive  me 
out  with  stones;  but  they  fell  harmless  upon  the 
building.  The  besiegers  consulted  togethe:*,  and 
decided  to  make  an  assault  on  the  works.  I  was 
entirely  willing  they  should  do  so,  for  I  could  knock 
them  over  with  the  club  as  fast  as  they  came  up, 
having  all  the  advantage  of  position.  Ben  Pinkerton 
volunteered  to  lead  the  forlorn  hope,  and  advanced 
with  considerable  boldness  to  the  attack.  I  gave 
him  a  gentle  rap  on  the  head  as  he  appeared  at  the 
door,  and  he  fell  back,  unable  to  reach  me  with  hia 
stick,  as  I  stood  so  much  higher  than  he. 

"  Better  keep  back,"  I  remonstrated  with  him, 
"  If  there  are  any  broken  heads,  they  will  be  yours." 


134  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

Dick  Bayard  then  attempted  to  climb  up  the 
railing  of  the  stairs,  so  as  to  be  on  a  level  with 
me ;  but  I  knocked  his  fingers  with  my  stick,  and 
he  desisted.  It  was  plain  to  them,  after  this  trial, 
that  a  direct  assault  was  not  practicable,  and  they 
retired  to  the  ground  below.  Another  consultation 
followed  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy;  and  by  this 
time  Wadclie's  friends  were  quite  as  much  interested 
in  the  affair  as  he  was  himself. 

"  I  wish  I  had  my  revolver,"  said  the  scion.  "  Hold 
on !  I  will  go  to  the  house  and  get  it ;  you  stay 
here,  and  don't  let  him  come  down." 

"  O,  no !  We  don't  want  any  pistol,"  protested  Ben 
Pinkerton.     "  You  musn't  shoot  him  !  " 

"  Why  not  ?  I  would  shoot  him  as  quick  as  I 
would  a  cat.  I  wouldn't  kill  him,  of  course ;  but  I 
would  make  him  come  down,  and  give  us  fair  play 
on  the  ground,"  added  Waddie. 

Fair  play !  Seven  of  them,  armed  with  clubs, 
against  one !      That  was  Waddie's   idea  of  fair  play. 

"  ISTo ;  we  don't  want  any  pistols,"  persisted  Ben. 
"  Some  one  might  get  hurt,  and  then  we  should  be 
in  a  bad  scrape." 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  135 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  demanded  the 
young  gentleman.  "Are  you  going  to  let  him  stay 
up  there  and  crow  over  us  ?  I'm  wet  through,  and  I 
don't  want  to  stay  here  all  day.  I'll  tell  you  what 
I'll  do.  I'll  set  the  summer  house  on  fire.  That  will 
bring  him  down." 

This  was  a  brilliant  idea  of  Waddie,  and  I  was 
afraid  he  would  put  it  into  operation,  for  he  was 
reckless  enough  to  do  anything. 

"That  won't  do,"  replied  the  prudent  Pinkerton. 
"We  don't  want  to  get  into  any  scrape." 

"  No ;  don't  set  it  on  fire,"  added  Dick  Bayard ; 
and  so  said  all  of  them  but  Waddie;  for  probably 
they  foresaw  that  they  would  have  to  bear  all  the 
blame  of  the  deed. 

"  I  don't  want  to  stay  here  all  day,"  fretted  Waddie. 

"  Put  it  through  by  daylight ! "  I  ventured  to  sug- 
gest, as  I  sat  on  the  upper  step,  listening  to  the 
interview. 

"He  is  laughing  at  us,"  said  the  scion,  angrily. 

"Let  him  laugh;  he  is  safe,"  replied  Ben.  "I'll 
tell  you  what  we  can  do." 

"Well,  what?"  asked  Waddie,  as  he  east  a  dis- 
contented glance  at  me. 


136  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"Let  us  camp  out  here  to-night,"   continued   Ben. 

"  Camp  out !  "  repeated  several  of  the  party,  not 
fully  comprehending  the  idea  of  the  fertile  Pinker- 
ton's  brilliant  mind. 

"  Starve  him  out,  I  mean,"  explained  Ben.  "  We 
will  stay  here  and  keep  him  a  close  prisoner  till  he 
is  willing  to  come  down  and  take  his  licking  like 
a  man." 

Stupid  as  this  plan  seemed  to  me,  it  was  promptly 
adopted.  But  the  enemy  retired  out  of  hearing  to 
complete  the  arrangement,  though  they  were  near 
enough  to  fall  upon  me  if  I  attempted  to  escape. 
I  did  not  consider  myself  a  match  for  the  whole  of 
them  on  the  ground,  and  I  had  expected  to  be  ter- 
ribly mauled,  as  I  should  have  been  if  my  wits  had 
not  served  me  well. 

Presently  I  saw  Wacldie  leave  the  party,  and  walk 
towards  his  father's  house.  I  concluded  that  he  had 
gone  to  change  his  clothes,  for  his  plight  was  as 
disagreeable  as  it  could  be.  His  companions  took 
position  near  the  foot  of  the  steps,  with  the  clubs 
in  their  hands,  ready  to  receive  me  if  I  attempted 
to  evacuate    my  fortress.      I   was  quite    comfortable, 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  137 

and    rather    curious    to    know    what    they  intended 
to  do. 

I  waited  an  hour  for  the  return  of  Waddie,  during 
which  time  I  studied  the  structure  in  which  I  was  a 
prisoner,  and  its  surroundings,  in  order  to  prepare 
myself  for  action  when  it  should  be  necessary.  It 
was  plain  to  me  that  the  scion  was  taking  more 
time  than  was  needed  to  change  his  clothes.  I 
thought  something  had  happened  at  the  house ;  and 
in  this  impression  I  Avas  soon  confirmed  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  Colonel  Wimpleton,  attended  by  two 
men. 


138  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,   OE 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CAPTAIN    SYNDEES. 


THERE  were  not  many  men  in  Centreport  who 
were  not  either  the  toadies  or  the  employees 
of  Colonel  Wimpleton.  He  was  an  absolute  mon- 
arch in  the  place,  and  his  will  was  law,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  though  of  course  he  did  not 
operate  with  all  as  he  did  with  me.  Ordinarily, 
and  especially  when  not  opposed,  he  was  a  very 
gentlemanly  man,  affable  to  his  equals,  —  if  he  had 
any  equals  in  town,  —  and  condescending  to  his 
inferiors. 

I  was  not  quite  willing  to  believe  that  Waddie 
had  called  upon  his  father  •  for  aid.  It  was  more 
probable  that  the  scion's  dirty  plight  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  his  parents,  and  called  forth  an 
explanation.  But  it  was  all  the  same  to  me,  since 
Colonel   Wimpleton   was   coming   with    efficient    aid 


TELE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  139 

to  capture  and  reduce  me  to  proper  subjection.  It 
was  no  common  enemy  with  whom  I  was  called 
upon  to  contend,  but  the  mighty  man  of  Centre- 
port,  whose  will  none  dared  to  oppose. 

As  the  party  approached,  I  saw  that  one  of  the 
men  was.  Captain  Synders,  the  ex-skipper  of  a  canal 
boat,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  honors  and 
dignities  of  a  constable.  I  was  somewhat  appalled 
when  I  considex*ed  his  official  position,  for  he  was 
armed  with  authority,  and  it  would  be  hardly  safe 
for  me  to  offer  any  resistance  to  him.  The  coming 
of  Colonel  Wimpleton  nipped  in  the  bud  the  scheme 
of  the  bullies  to  camp  out  around  me,  and  I  was 
rather  glad  to  have  the  case  settled  without  any 
unnecessary  delay. 

The  summer  house,  which  was  a  poor  imitation 
of  an  Indian  pagoda,  mounted  on  piles,  had  a  door, 
with  a  window  in  each  of  its  octagonal  faces.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  brook  was  a  large  tree,  whose 
branches  partially  shaded  the  building.  During  my 
study  of  the  situation,  I  had  arranged  a  plan  by 
which  my  escape  could  be  effected  at  a  favorable 
moment.     I  could  pass  out  at  one  of  the  windows, 


140  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

and  climb  to  the  roof  of  the  pagoda,  from  which 
the  overhanging  branches  of  the  trees  would  afford 
me  the  means  of  reaching  the  ground.  The  only 
difficulty  in  my  way  was,  that  my  besiegers  would 
be  able  to  reach  the  foot  of  the  tree  before  I  could, 
and  thus  cut  off  my  retreat.  But  the  summer  house 
was  located  near  the  lake,  and  the  brook  at  this 
point  was  wide  and  deep,  so  that  it  could  not  be 
crossed  except  on  the  bridge,  which  was  several 
rods  distant.  My  line  of  retreat  would  be  avail- 
able only  when  the  besiegers  were  off  their  guard, 
or  were  not  in  a  situation  to  pursue  instantly. 

When  Colonel  Wimpleton  appeared,  Waddie's  six 
brave  companions  retired  from  the  ground,  fearful, 
perhaj)S,  of  getting  into  a  scrape.  I  saw  them  move 
off  a  short  distance,  and  halt  to  observe  the  pro- 
ceedings. The  great  man  and  his  associates  de- 
voted their  whole  attention  to  me,  and  did  not 
heed  the  students.  They  came  directly  to.  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  while  I  sat  at  the  head  of  them.  I 
had  made  a  movement  to  retire  when  the  valiant 
six  retreated ;  but  I  saw  that  the  attempt  would  only 
throw  me  into  the  hands  of  the  reinforcements. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  141 

"  Come  down,  you  villain ! "  called  Colonel  Wini- 
pleton,  as  he  halted  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 

To  this  summons  to  surrender  I  made  no  reply. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  knocking  my  son  over 
into  the  mud  ? "   he  added,  angrily. 

"  He  began  it  upon  me,  sir,"  I  replied.  "  He 
brought  up  half  a  dozen  fellows  to  lick  me,  and 
struck  me  with  a  club." 

"  He  served  you  right.  I  told  you  to  come 
down." 

"I  know  you  did,  sir." 

"Are  you  coming  down?" 

"Not  just  yet." 

"Go  up  and  bring  him  down,  Synders,"  said  the 
colonel  to  the  officer. 

"I'll  bring  him  down,"  replied  the  zealous  con- 
stable. 

But  he  did  not. 

I  sprang  to  my  feet,  leaped  out  upon  the  trim- 
mings of  the  pagoda,  and  vaulted  to  the  roof 
almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  —  at.  any  rate, 
before  Captain  Synders  reached  the  inside  of  the 
summer   house.      The   constable    looked   out   of   the 


142  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

window  at  my  elevated  position.  He  was  too 
clumsy  to  follow  me,  and  I  felt  that  I  was  per- 
fectly safe.  From  the  roof  I  saw  that  the  branches 
of  the  tree  were  more  favorable  to  my  descent 
than  I  had  supposed,  and  I  found  that  I  could 
climb  into  another  tree  on  the  same  side  of  the 
brook  as  the  pagoda.  I  jumped  into  the  branches 
of  this  tree,  and  began  to  move  down.  I  found 
that  my  gymnastic  practice  at  the  Institute,  where 
I  had  excelled  in  this  department,  was  of  great 
service  to  me,  and  I  was  quite  sure  that  no  man 
could  follow  me. 

Perching  myself  on  a  branch,  I  paused  to  exam- 
ine the  situation  again.  Captain  Synders  sent  the 
man  who  had  come  with  him,  and  who  was  one 
of  the  gardeners,  to  the  foot  of  the  tree  to  inter- 
cept my  retreat.  I  did  not  purpose  to  go  down 
that  way,  but  intended,  at  the  right  time,  to  return 
to  the  roof  of  the  pagoda,  and  descend  on  the  other 
side  of  the  brook.  My  movement  in  this  direction 
was  only  a  feint.  The  colonel  exj)ected,  doubtless, 
that  I  would  drop  down  into  the  arms  of  the  gar- 
dener,  and    that  the    chase   would    be   immediately 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  143 

ended ;  but,  seated  on  the  branch,  I  kept  still,  and 
said  nothing. 

"  Are  you  going  down,  you  scoundrel  ? "  roared 
the  colonel,  when  he  found  the  plan  did  not  work. 

"No,  sir,  not  yet." 

"You  are  on  my  grounds,  and  I  will  have  you 
arrested  as  a  trespasser,"  foamed  the  colonel. 

"  You  sent  for  me,  sir,  and  I  came  at  your  request." 

"  Who  sent  for  you  ?  " 

"You  did,  sir;  ask  Waddie;  he  was  your  mes- 
senger." 

"  I  didn't  send  for  you." 

"  Waddie  came  to  my  house,  and  said  you  wanted 
to  see  me." 

"  I  want  to  see  you  now,  at  any  rate." 

"  Here  I  am,  sir." 

"  You  shall  be  punished  for  knocking  my  son  over 
into  the  mud." 

"I  would  like  to  talk  this  matter  over  coolly, 
Colonel  Wimpleton,"  I  continued,  taking  an  easy 
position  in  the  tree.  "I  apologized  to  Waddie  for 
calling  him  a  liar,  and  I  am  sorry  I  was  saucy  to 
you." 


144  THROUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

"  Humph !  Come  down  from  that  tree,  then.  If 
you  make  a  clean  breast  of  it,  I  will  let  you  off 
easy." 

"  I  don't  think  I'm  to  blame  for  anything  except 
being  saucy,"  I  replied ;  and  I  did  not  think  I  was 
much  to  blame  for  that,  after  he  had  called  me  a 
villain  and  a  scoundrel,  and  other  hard  names;  still 
it  was  returning  evil  for  evil. 

"  Did  he  apologize  to  you,  Waddie  ? "  asked  the 
colonel,  turning  to  his  hopeful. 

"  He  said  he  was  sorry,  and  I  told  him  to  get 
down  on  his  knees  and  beg  my  pardon,"  replied 
Waddie. 

"  And  he  would  not  do  it  ? "  asked  the  indignant 
father,  evidently  regarding  it  as  exceedingly  un- 
reasonable in  me  to  refuse  to  undergo  this  trifling 
humiliation. 

"No,  he  wouldn't." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  the  great  man.  "  We  shall 
see  whether  he  will  or  not." 

I  was  willing  to  see. 

"Wolf  Penniman,  you  are  a  bad  boy!"  exclaimed 
the  colonel  with  emphasis. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  145 

I  did  not  dispute  him. 

"You  have  insulted  me  and  my  son." 

"  I  am  willing  to  be  forgiven,  sir,"  I  answered, 
after  a  vain  effort  to  keep  down  the  spirit  which 
was  rising  in  me.  "  I  have  apologized  for  being 
saucy ;  what  more  can  I  do  ? " 

"  You  must  do  what  my  son  told  you  to  do,  and 
then  confess  that  you  helped  blow  up  the  canal 
boat,"  replied  he,  more  calmly  than  he  had  yet 
spoken. 

"I  can't  do  anything  more,  then.  I  knew  noth- 
ing about  the  blow-up,  and  I  won't  go  down  on 
my  knees  to  anybody  in  this  world." 

"  You  are  an  obstinate  villain,  and  I'll  bring  you 
to  your  senses  before  I  have  done  with  you.  Where 
is  your  father?" 

"Gone  to  Hitaca." 

"Will  you  come  down  now,  or  shall  I  have  you 
brought  clown." 

"  I'll  be  brought  down,  if  it's  all  the  same  to  you, 
sir,"  I  replied,  folding  my  arms,  and  looking  as  im- 
pudent as  I  spoke. 

I  felt  that  I  had  given  my  mother's  good  advice 
10 


146  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OK 

a  fair  trial.  I  had  gained  nothing  by  apologizing, 
though  I  was  not  sorry  I  had  done  so.  The  more 
I  humiliated  myself,  the  more  I  must;  and,  with- 
out meaning  to  be  saucy,  I  determined  to  stand  up 
squarely  for  my  own  rights  and  my  own  dignity. 

"  I'll  bring  him  down,  if  you  say  so,  father,"  vol- 
unteered the  Wimpleton  junior. 

"How?" 

"  We  can  drive  him  out  of  the  tree,  as  we  did 
off  the  bridge." 

"Exactly  so!"  exclaimed  Captain  Synders.  "That's 
a  good  idea.  Since  neither  words  nor  grass  will  do, 
we'll  try  what  virtue's  in  a  stone  or  two." 

The  besiegers  went  down  the  stairs,  and  Waddie 
called  up  his  forces,  ready  to  renew  the  assault.  By 
the  time  they  reached  the  ground  I  had  descended 
to  the  roof  of  the  pagoda,  where  the  party  could 
not  see  me,  and  where  the  thick  branches  of  the 
trees  protected  me  from  their  missiles.  They  soon 
found  they  were  not  getting  ahead  any,  and  by 
the  advice  of  Synders  they  changed  their  position. 
With  the  exception  of  the  colonel,  who  was  too 
dignified   to    throw    stones,  men    and    boys   renewed 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  147 

the  assault,  and  poured  a  shower  of  stones  upon 
me.  Some  of  them  hit  me,  and  the  roof  became 
too  warm  for  me.  I  dropped  down  into  the  sum- 
mer house  for  safety.  Finding  the  coast  clear,  —  for 
the  colonel  had  been  forced  to  retire  from  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  to  avoid  the  stones,  —  I  rushed  down 
the  steps,  and  ran  with  all  my  might  towards  home. 
The  besiegers  had  been  careless,  and  I  was  only  too 
happy  to  take  advantage  of  their  mistake. 

I  ran  as  fast  as  I  could  over  the  bridge,  follow- 
ing the  path  by  which  I  had  come.  I  was  closely, 
pursued;  but  I  distanced  all  my  enemies.  It  would 
be  useless  for  me  to  go  home ;  for  the  constable 
was  a  man  of  authority,  and  I  supposed  he  had 
been  sent  for  to  arrest  me,  though  on  what  charge 
I  could  not  conjecture,  for  Wimpleton  senior  would 
not  dare  to  prosecute  me  in  a  matter  wherein  Wim- 
pleton junior  would  be  likely  to  suffer  more  than 
myself.  I  wished  to  spare  my  mother  the  pain 
and  anxiety  of  another  controversy  in  the  house; 
and  for  that  reason,  as  well  as  because  home  was 
not  a  safe  place  for  me,  I  made  my  way  to  the 
mill  wharf,  where  I  had  an  old  skiff. 


148  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

I  reached  this  boat  without  accident,  but  out  of 
breath  with  the  hard  run  I  had  had.  Jumping  in, 
I  pushed  off,  and  pulled  away  from  the  shore.  For 
the  present  I  was  safe,  for  there  was  no  boat  in 
which  I  could  be  pursued,  nearer  than  the  man- 
sion of  Colonel  Wimpleton.  The  constable  and 
his  companions  did  not  come  down  to  the  wharf 
after  they  saw  me  push  off,  but  returned  in  the 
direction  of  the  grove.  I  rowed  out  upon  the  lake, 
where  I  could  see  any  boat  which  might  put  off 
after  me.  I  went  half  way  across  the  lake,  and 
then  concluded  that  my  assailants  had  chosen  to 
wait  for  my  return. 

I  did  not  exactly  like  to  return  then ;  it  would 
only  be  putting  my  head '  into  the  lion's  mouth ; 
and  I  pulled  for  Middleport.  A  sail-boat  was  near 
me,  in  which  were  several  boys,  one  of  whom  pres- 
ently hailed  me. 

"  Is  that  you,  "Wolf?  "  called  the  speaker,  in  whom 
I  recognized  Tommy  Toppleton. 

I  informed  him  that  it  was  I. 

"I  was  going  over  after  you,"  he  added.  "Jump 
aboard  —  will  you?" 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  149 

I  did  so,  and  was  glad  to  find  myself  among 
friends,  though  they  were  Toppletonians. 

"We  want  you  to  get  that  engine  out  of  the 
water,"  continued  Tommy. 

I  saw  the  tow-boat  at  the  wharf,  with  steam  up, 
and  I  promised  to  do  the  job  before  night  —  in  fact, 
to  put  it  through  by  daylight. 


150         THEOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


EAISING    THE    DUMMY. 


"JJAYEFT   you   any   one   in   Middleport    that 

_i l_    can   raise    that    engine  ? "    I    asked,    with   a 

pleasant  smile,  after  I  had  taken  a  seat  in  Tommy 
Toppleton's  beautiful  sail-boat,  with  my  old  skiff  in 
tow. 

"  Of  course  we  have,"  replied  the  Toppleton 
junior;  but  I'm  afraid  it  will  take  a  week  for  them 
to  do  it.  They  are  talking  about  rigging  a  derrick 
on  the  wharf." 

"  You  don't  need  any  derrick,  or  anything  of  that 
sort,"  I  added,  confidently ;  and  I  was  quite  satis- 
fied that  with  the  aid  of  the  tow-boat  I  could  make 
good  my  jn'omise. 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  really  raise  the  thing  ? " 
asked  Tommy,  anxiously. 

"I  know  I  can." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  151 

"  Can  you  do  it  right  up  quick  ? " 

"  It  may  take  an  hour  or  so.  Can  I  have  your 
father's  tow-boat?" 

"Certainly  you  can;  but  my  father  don't  know  I 
came  over  after  you,"  added  the  scion  of  the  house, 
of  Toppleton. 

"  I  don't  want  to  do  anything  without  your 
father's  knowledge  and  consent." 

"He  won't  find  any  fault  with  anything  except 
that  you  are  a  Centreporter." 

"I  am  no  more  a  Centreporter  than  I  am  a  Mid- 
dleporter  now,"  I  replied.  "I  have  had  a  row  with 
the  powers  that  be  on  our  side." 

"  A  row  !  Good  ! "  exclaimed  Tommy,  his  face 
brightening  up  at  this  intelligence.   "  What  was  it  ? " 

I  explained  what  it  was,  telling  the  whole  history 
of  the  blowing  up  of  the  canal  boat,  with  the  col- 
lateral incidents  relating  to  the  affair. 

"That's  just  like  Wimpleton,"  said  Tommy.  "We 
don't  behave   in  that  way   on  our  side  of  the  lake." 

I  hoped  they  did  not;  but  it  was  a  fact  patent 
to  the  people,  that  Mr.  Tommy,  though  by  no 
means  as  bad  a  boy  as  Waddie,  was  a  spoiled  child. 


152  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

He  was  overbearing,  domineering,  and  inclined  to 
get  into  bad  scrapes.  Though  he  was  willing  to  be 
my  friend,  and  to  treat  me  with  the  greatest  consid- 
eration at  the  present  time,  it  was  only  because  he 
had  an  axe  to  grind ;  and  I  had  not  much  confi- 
dence in  the  professions  he  made  to  me. 

"I  wish  you  would  come  and  live  on  our  side," 
added  Tommy.  "We  want  just  such  a  fellow  as 
you  are  over  here." 

"  Perhaps  I  may  have  to  live  over  here,"  I  re- 
plied. "  I  suppose  Waddie  will  not  let  me  rest  in 
peace  after  what  has  happened ;  and  I  never  will 
go  down  on  my  knees  to  him  or  any  other  person." 

"  Don't  you  do  it,  Wolf,"  said  Tommy,  warmly. 
"If  you  want  a  dozen  or  twenty  of  our  fellows 
to  go  over  and  whip  out  the  crowd  that  set  upon 
you,  we  will  do  it  —  won't  we,  fellows  ? " 

"  I'll  bet  we  will,"  replied  the  half  dozen  partic- 
ular cronies  of  Tommy  who  were  in  the  boat  with 
him. 

"I  don't  wish  to  do  anything  of  that  kind.  I 
bear  Waddie  no  ill  will ;  and  if  he  will  only  let  me 
alone,  I  shall  never  have  any  trouble  with  him." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  153 

"You  are  too  easy  with  him.  If  you  only  licked 
him  once,  he  would  respect  you  for  it." 

I  could  not  help  thinking  what  the  consequences 
would  be  if  any  plebeian  Middleporter  took  it  into 
his  head  to  "  lick "  Tommy  Toppleton ;  and  it  was 
about  the  same  on  one  side  of  the  lake  as  the  other. 
It  was  not  prudent  to  thrash  so  much  pride,  conceit, 
and  wealth,  as  were  embodied  in  the  person  of  either 
of  the  heirs  of  the  great  houses.  The  sons  of  poor 
men  had  to  stand  back,  and  take  off  their  hats  to 
the  scion  of  either  family.  Fathers'  situations  and 
mothers'  social  positions  depended  much  upon  the 
deference  paid  by  their  children  to  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  nabobs. 

"Where  shall  I  land  you,  Wolf?"  asked  Tommy, 
as  the  sail-boat  approached  the  wharf,  near  which 
the  dummy  reposed,  ignominiously,  on  the  bottom 
of  the  lake. 

"  Put  me  on  board  of  the  tow-boat  if  you  please. 
And  you  must  get  the  captain  to  do  what  I  tell 
him,"   I  replied. 

"I'll  do  that.  He  shall  obey  your  orders  just  as 
though  you  were  the  owner  of  the  steamer." 


154  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

W«e  ran  up  to  the  tow-boat,  which  was  about  to 
start  on  a  trip  up  the  lake  with  a  fleet  of  canal 
boats  that  had  gathered  together.  I  knew  that  she 
had  on  board  all  the  rigging  I  needed  for  my  bold 
experiment,  including  some  very  long  tow-lines. 
Tommy  ran  up  to  the  boat,  and  he  and  I  leaped 
upon  her  deck,  for  I  had  assured  him  I  needed  no 
help   from   the   boys,   or   any   one  else. 

"  Captain  Underwood,  we  want  to  use  your  boat 
for  a  while,"  said  Tommy,  as  briskly  as  though  he 
had  himself  been  the   owner  of  the  craft. 

"  Does  your  father  say  so  ? "  asked  the  captain, 
with  some  hesitation,  and  with  the  utmost  deference. 

"No  matter  whether  he  does  or  not;  I  will  be 
responsible.  Now  go  ahead,  Wolf.  You  can  put 
her  through  by  daylight."  ~ 

The  captain  consented  to  take  part  in  the  enter- 
prise, when  informed  that  I  was  the  "young  engi- 
neer," —  as  I  had  the  honor  to  be  called,  —  and 
that  I  had  a  plan  to  put  the  dummy  on  shore. 

"  Shall  I  explain  the  plan  to  you,  Captain  Under- 
wood ? "  I  asked. 

"No,  you  needn't,  Wolf,  unless  you  wish  to  do 
so,"  interposed  Tommy,  impatiently. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  155 

"If  you  will  tell  me  what  to  do,  I  will  obey 
orders,"  answered  the  captain.  "In  fact,  I  don't 
care  to  know  anything  about  it;  and  then  I  shall 
be  responsible  for  nothing." 

"  All  right,  captain.  You  shall  not  be  responsi- 
ble, and  if  I  fail  no  harm  will  be  done.  Have  you 
a  stout  iron  hook  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  here  is  one  on  the  end  of  this  tow-line," 
he  replied,  pointing  to  a   coil  of  large   rope. 

"That's  just  what  I  want,"  said  I,  throwing  off 
my  coat.  "Now  run  up  to  the  north  side  of  the 
dummy." 

Before  the  steamer  reached  the  spot  I  had  thrown 
off  all  my  clothes.  Jumping  into  my  skiff  with 
Tommy,  who  was  proud  and  happy  to  have  a  finger 
in  the  pie,  we  took  the  tow-line  on  board,  and  pulled 
to  the  end  of  the  dummy,  to  which  I  made  fast.  I 
had  ascertained  from  my  companion  that  there  was 
a  shackle  eye  in  each  end  of  the  engine,  by  which 
another  car  could  be  attached  to  it ;  and  my  present 
purpose  was  to  fasten   the  hook  into  this  eye. 

The  water  of  Lake  Ucayga  is  as  clear  as  crystal, 
and  I  had  no  trouble  in  finding  the  eye,  which  was 


156  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

no  more  than  four  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  lake. 
I  dropped  down  into  the  engine-room,  standing  up 
to  my  neck  in  water,  and  Tommy  lowered  down 
the  iron  hook.  I  then  stooped  down,  disajDpeared 
from  the  view  of  the  world  above  me  for  a  moment, 
and  attached  the  hook  to  the  eye. 

"All  right,  Tommy,"  said  I,  when  I  had  cleared 
the  water  from  my  mouth. 

"Bully  for  you,  Wolf;  but  I  don't  see  how  you 
are  going  to  put  the  thing  on  shore,"  replied  he. 

"I'm  going  to  do  it;  if  I  don't  I  never  will  go 
on  shore  again  myself,"  I  added,  as  I  sprang  upon 
the  roof  of  the   dummy  again. 

"  I  should  hate  to  fail,  for  the  fellows  are  a  gath- 
ering on  the  wharf  to  see  the  fun." 

"  There's  no  such  word  as  fail,"  I  answered,  leap- 
ing into  the  boat.  "  Now  pull  for  the  tow-boat, 
and  let  me  put  on  my  rags  again. 

I  jumped  upon  deck,  and  in  a  few  moments  had 
my  clothes  on.  I  glanced  at  the  wharf,  and  saw 
that  quite  a  number  of  students  and  grown-up  peo- 
ple had  gathered  there,  as  the  intelligence  spread 
that  something  was  going  on. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  157 

"What  next,  Wolf?"  asked  Captain  Underwood, 
bestowing  upon  me  a  smile  which  seemed  to  indi- 
cate an  utter  want  of  confidence  in  my  operations. 

"  Go  ahead,  captain,"  I  replied,  seizing  the  tow- 
line,  and  making  it  fast  at  the  bitts  provided  for  the 
purpose. 

I  knew  what  the  bottom  of  the  lake  was  at  the 
Middleport  wharf,  for  I  had  been  down  there  more 
than  once.  It  was  composed  of  hard  gravel,  and 
almost  as  smooth  as  the  surface  of  the  lake  in  a 
calm  day.  I  knew  that  the  flanges  of  the  car  wheels 
would  cut  into  the  ground  and  make  it  go  hard, 
and  they  would  run  as  well  there  as  on  a  hard 
road. 

"Go  ahead!"  said  Captain  Underwood  to  the 
engineer. 

"  Steady,  captain !  Work  her  up  gradually,"  I 
added. 

The  wheels  turned  slowly  at  first,  so  as  not  to 
part  the  tow-line,  or  needlessly  wrench  the  sunken 
car;  but  in  a  few  moments  she  had  full  steam  on. 
It  was  an  anxious  moment  to  me,  and  the  gathering 
crowd  on  shore  watched  the  movement  in  silence. 


158  THBOUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"  She  starts  !  "  exclaimed  Tommy,  highly  excited. 
"  She's  coming !  " 

"  Of  course  she's  coming ;  I  knew  she  would,"  I 
replied,  struggling  to  keep  down  the  emotions  which 
agitated  me. 

"  Hurrah ! "  yelled  Tommy,  as  the  dummy  began 
to  follow  us,  as  though  she  were  a  part  of  the 
steamer. 

"Starboard  your  helm,  Captain  Underwood,"  I 
called. 

"  Starboard  it  is,"  replied  the  captain,  when  he 
had  given  the  order  to  the  wheelman. 

"  Keep  as  well  in  shore  as  your  draught  will  let 
you,"  I  continued. 

"I  can't  run  the  boat  up  on  the  shore,  Wolf," 
said  the  captain. 

"  I  don't  want  you  to  do  so.  The  dummy  travels 
very  well  on  the  bottom." 

"  Yes ;  but  we  can't  drag  it  out  of  the  water  with- 
out running  upon  shore  with  the  boat." 

"I  think  we  can,  captain.  At  any  rate,  don't  let 
the  boat  get  aground,"  I  replied. 

The  steamer  continued  on  her  course  till  she  came 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  159 

abreast  of  a  large  tree  growing  on  the  shore,  be- 
tween which  and  the  lake  the  rails  were  laid  down. 

"  Stop  her ! "  I  shouted ;  and  my  order  was 
promptly  obeyed. 

The  dummy  was  now  in  about  six  feet  of  water, 
and  not  more  than  a  hundred  feet  from  the  tree. 
It  was  headed  in  a  diagonal  towards  the   railroad. 

"Now,  Captain  Underwood,  have  you  a  heavy 
snatch-block  ? "  I  asked,  as  the.  boat  stopped. 

"  I  have  —  one  used  with  that  tow-line,"  replied 
the  obliging  captain,  to  whom  the  request  indicated 
the  nature  of  further  operations ;  and  I  ought  to  add, 
in  justice  to  him,  that  the  look  of  incredulity  which 
had  played  upon  his  face  was  all  gone. 

I  took  the  snatch-block,  with  the  ropes  to  make  it 
fast,  and  the  end  of  the  tow-line,  into  the  skiff,  and, 
attended  by  Tommy,  pulled  ashore.  My  companion, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  usually  wore  kid  gloves, 
made  himself  exceedingly  serviceable.  I  rigged  the 
snatch-block  to  the  tree,  and  passed  the  tow-line 
over  the  sheaf,  carrying  the  end  back  to  the  steamer 
in  the  boat,  where  I  made  it  fast  to  the  stern  bitts. 

"  Go   ahead,   captain !  "  I   called. 


160  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR   - 

Working  her  up  to  her  speed  slowly  and  carefully, 
the  steamer  ploughed  and  strained  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, then  went  ahead.  The  rope  strained,  but  it 
did  not  part,  and  the  dummy  walked  up  out  of  the 
water  as  though  she  had  been  a  sea-horse  emerging 
from  his  native   element. 

The  crowd  which  had  followed  the  steamer  cheered 
lustily,  and  my  promise  was  redeemed. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  161 


CHAPTEE  XV. 


GETTING  UP    STEAM. 


THE  enthusiastic  cheering  which  followed  the 
passage  of  the  dummy  from  the  water  to  the 
land  was  grateful  to  me,  and  I  enjoyed  it  to  a  de- 
gree which  I  cannot  exj:>ress.  I  felt  just  as  though 
the  Centreporters  had  cast  me  out,  and  the  Middle- 
porters  had  taken  me  up.  I  was  quite  confident 
that  there  were  many  persons  in  Middle-port  who 
could  have  raised  the  dummy;  but  no  one  seemed 
to  have  thought  of  my  plan.  Perhaps  few  of  them 
knew  the  bottom  of  the  lake  as  well  as  I  did,  for 
diving  was  one  of  my  accomplishments ;  and  I  had 
oftener  gone  into  the  water  on  the  Micldleport  side 
than  on  the  other,  because  the  beach  was  better. 

"  By  gracious,   Wolf !     You    have  done    it !  "  ex^ 
claimed  Tommy  Toppleton,  as  I  directed  the  captain 
to  stop  the  steamer;    and    his   mouth    and    his    eyes 
11 


162  THEOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

were  opened  as  wide  as  if  an  earthquake  had  rent 
the  lake  beneath  us. 

"  Of  course  I  have  done  it ;  I  expected  to  do  it," 
I  replied,  as  indifferently  as  I  could  ;  for,  however  big 
one  may  feel,  he  does  not  always  like  to  show  it. 

"  You  have  done  it  handsomely,  too,"  added  Cap- 
tain Underwood;  and  praise  from  Sir  What's-his- 
name  was  praise  indeed. 

"I  hope  the  Wimpleton  fellows  saw  that,"  said 
Tommy,  puffing  out  his  cheeks,  and  looking  as  grand 
as  an  alderman.  "It  would  take  them  down  a  peg 
if  they  did." 

"  I  expect  to  catch  it  for  helping  you  out,"  I  added, 
as  I  thought  of  the  wrath  of  Colonel  Wimpleton 
when  he  should  hear  that  I  had  been  playing  into 
the  hands  of  the  Toppletonians. 

"  Don't  you  be  afraid  of  the  whole  boodle  of 
them,"  replied  Tommy,  shaking  his  head,  as  though 
he  thought  the  other  side  would  make  a  great  mis- 
take if  it  attempted  to  punish  me  for  what  I  had 
done. 

"We'll  talk  about  that  some  other  time,"  I  an 
Bwered,    turning    my    attention    to    business    again. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  163 

"We  haven't  quite  done  the  work  yet.  "We  must 
put  the  dummy  on  the  track." 

"  Can  I  help  you  any  more?"  asked  the  captain, 
with  a  deference  which  amazed  me. 

"  You  may  give  us  one  more  pull,  if  you  are  not 
in  a  hurry.  I'm  going  on  shore  now,  and  I  will 
make  a  signal  to  start  and  to  stop  her,  with  my 
handkerchief,"  said  I,  jumping  into  the  skiff  with 
Tommy. 

The  dummy  stood  within  a  couple  of  rods  of  the 
track,  which  was  in  readiness  as  far  as  Spangleport, 
five  miles  down  the  lake.  We  landed,  and  marched 
in  triumph  through  the  crowd  of  men  and  boys  on 
the  shore,  though  I  ought  to  say  that  Tommy  did 
the  triumphal  part  of  the  programme,  and  looked  as 
grand  as  though  he  had  himself  been  the  engineer 
of  the  movement.  Scores  of  the  students  offered 
their  services,  and  as  I  was  on  the  point  of  sending 
some  of  them  for  a  few  planks  on  which  to  roll  the 
dummy  to  the  track,  a  platform  car,  which  had  con- 
stituted the  entire  rolling  stock  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad,  rumbled  up  to  the  spot,  in  charge  of  a  por- 
tion of  the   students,  attended  by  Major  Topplet^n 


164  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

himself.  The  car  was  loaded  with  planks  and  rig- 
ging, which  the  Middleport  magnate  had  foreseen  we 
should  want. 

"  We've  got  her  out,  father  !  "  shouted  Tommy, 
when  he  saw  the  major. 

"I  see  you  have,"  replied  the  great  man,  with  a 
cheerful  smile. 

"  But  we  haven't  quite  finished  the  job  yet,"  added 
the  young  gentleman,  bustling  about  as  though  the 
completion  of  the  work  rested  heavily  on  his  shoul- 
ders. "  "What  next,  Wolf?  "  said  he,  turning  to  me, 
and  speaking  in  a  lower  tone. 

"  We  must  lay  down  some  planks  to  roll  it  on  the 
track  with,"  I  replied. 

"Bring  up  the  planks,  fellows  !  "  cried  Tommy; 
and  the  students  rushed  to  obey  his  commands. 

"This  is  Wolf— is  it?"  said  Major  Toppleton, 
bestowing  a  patronizing  glance  at  me. 

"  Yes,  father ;  this  is  Wolf,  and  he  puts  things 
through  by  daylight,  I  can  tell  you.  He  and  I  have 
managed  this  thing  ourselves,"  replied  Tommy,  swell- 
ing with  importance. 

"I'm  glad  to  see  you,  Wolf.  They  say  you  have 
a  taste  for  machinery." 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  165 

"Yes,  sir;  I'm  very  fond  of  machinery." 

"  And  you  live  on   the  other  side  ? " 

"Yes,  sir;  my  father  is  the  engineer  in  Colonel 
Wimpleton's  steam  mill." 

"Humph!"  ejaculated  the  major.  "But  you  have 
done  well,  for  I  was  just  offering  a  man  two  hundred 
dollars  to  raise  the  dummy.  He  said  it  would  take 
him  three  days  to  rig  his  derrick,  and  hring  down 
his  capstans  from  Ucayga.  I  was  talking  with  him 
when  you  hooked  on  and  dragged  the  thing  away. 
You  are  a  smart  boy." 

"Thank  you,  sir." 

"You  shall  not  lose  anything  by  the  job,  if  you 
do  belong  on  the  other  side,"  said  the  major,  mag- 
nanimously. 

"  O,  I  don't  ask  anything,  sir.  I  only  did  it  for 
fun." 

"Well,  it's  good  fun,  at  any  rate,"  laughed  the 
great  man.  "  The  boys  will  think  you  are  a  little 
god." 

"  I  suppose  I  shouldn't  have  dared  to  meddle  with 
it  if  I  had  not  fallen  out  with  Colonel  Wimpleton 
and  his  son." 


166  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

"Ah,  indeed?"  queried  the  major,  opening  his 
eyes,  as  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  passed  over  his  face. 
"  We  will  talk  that  matter  over  when  your  job  is 
finished." 

By  this  time  the  students,  who  would  have  in- 
sulted me  if  I  had  come  among  them  at  any  other 
time,  had  brought  up  the  planks  from  the  car,  and 
I  proceeded  to  lay  a  track  for  the  dummy  wheels. 
I  placed  two  lines  of  wide  ones  as  far  as  the  iron 
rails,  sweeping  them  in  curves,  so  as  to  turn  the 
engine  as  it  neared  the  track.  On  them  I  laid  nar- 
rower planks  for  the  wheels  to  run  upon,  gauging 
them  with  a  stick  measured  to  the  width  of  the 
flanges  of  the  wheels.  When  all  was  ready  for  a 
start,  I  gave  the  signal  with  my  handkerchief.  The 
steamer  paddled  and  splashed,  the  rope  strained,  and 
the  dummy  started  again.  I  directed  the  students 
to  steady  the  planks  so  that  they  should  not  slip, 
and  in  a  couple  of  minutes,  more  or  less,  we  had 
the  machine  on  the  temporary  track  I  had  rigged.  I 
waved  my  handkerchief  again,  and  the  boat  stopped. 

"That  will  do,  Tommy,"  said  I.  "Tell  your  fel- 
lows to  cast  off  the  snatch-block,  and  let  the  captain 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  167 

haul  in  his  tow-line.  We  shall  not  want  it  any 
more." 

"  But  the^dumrny  is  not  on  the  track  yet,"  replied 
Tommy,  fearful  that  some  delay  might  occur. 

"  We  can  move  it  on  the  planks  easily  enough 
without  the  steamer;  and  she  pulls  so  hard  I  am 
afraid  she  will  overdo  the  matter.  Send  a  couple 
of  your  fellows  off  in  my  skiff  with  the  snatch-block 
and  ropes." 

The  scion  of  the  Toppleton  house  liked  to  be 
"  the  biggest  toad  in  the  puddle,"  and  he  gave  off 
his  orders  with  great  gusto  to  the  students,  not 
always  in  as  gentlemanly  terms  as  I  could  have 
wished,  but  with  effect.  He  was  promptly  obeyed, 
without  dispute.  I  suggested  to  him  that  the  cush- 
ions and  other  movable  articles  in  the  passenger 
compartment  of  the  dummy  should  be  removed,  and 
placed  in  the  sun  to  dry.  Tommy  went  at  the 
students  as  though  the  idea  was  his  own,  and  made 
all  hands  "  stand  around  "  for  a  moment.  1  was 
very  willing  to  flatter  his  vanity  by  letting  him  do 
the  ordering. 

There  was  a  break  in  the  engine-room,  and  another 


168  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

on  the  platform  in  the  rear  of  the  car.  Tommy,  at 
my  request,  placed  a  student  at  each  of  them.  1 
then  rigged  a  long  rope  at  the  forward  end  of  the 
dummy,  which  was  manned  by  a  crowd  of  boys, 
while  the  men  who  were  standing  by  took  hold  at 
the  sides  and  end  of  the  car. 

"Now,  start  her,  Tommy,"  said  I,  in  a  low  tone, 
so  as  to  permit  him  to  enjoy  the  pleasing  illusion 
that  he  was  running  the  machine. 

"  Now,  all  together  —  ahead  with  her  !  "  shouted 
Tommy,  flourishing  his  arms  like  the  director  of  an 
orchestra. 

"Steady,  Tommy." 

"  Steady  !  "  yelled  my  mouthpiece. 

The  dummy  moved  slowly  forward,  till  the  drive- 
wheels  came  to  the  iron  track. 

"  Put  on  the  brakes  !  Stop  her !  "  shouted  Tommy, 
as  I  gave  him  the  word. 

The  passage  of  the  wheels  from  the  planks  down 
to  the  iron  track  involved  some  difficulty ;  but,  by 
the  aid  of  rocks  and  a  couple  of  iron  bars,  the  transit 
was  effected,  and  the  dummy  was  safely  deposited 
on  the  rails  in  just  an  hour  after  the  work  began. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEE.  169 

"  Three  cheers  for  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad !  " 
shouted  one  of  the  students,  in  the  violence  of  his 
enthusiasm,  when  the  job  was  completed. 

They  were  given  with  a  will. 

"Three  more  for  Wolf  Penniman,"  added  another 
student;  and  I  was  duly  complimented,  for  which  I 
took   off  my  cap'  and    bowed   my  acknowledgments. 

"  Don't  forget  Tommy,"  I  whispered  to  one  of  the 
fellows. 

"  Three  rousing  cheers  for  Tommy  Toppleton," 
called  the  student  to  whom  I  had  given  the  hint. 

Perhaps  some  of  them  thought  that  Mr.  Tommy 
had  not  done  anything  to  entitle  him  to  the  consid- 
eration ;  but  the  cheers  were  given,  and  supplemented 
with  a  "  tiger." 

"  Fellow-students,  I  thank  you  for  this  compli- 
ment, and  for  this  evidence  of  your  good  will,"  said 
Tommy,  taking  off  his  hat.  "I  have  done  the  best 
I  could  to  help  along  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  and 
as  the  president  of  the  company,  I  am  much  obliged 
to  you  for  this  token  of  encouragement.  When  our 
rolling  stock  was  buried  beneath  the  wave,  it  was 
my  duty  to  do  something;  and  I've  done  it.  I'm 
glad  you  are  satisfied  with  the  result." 


170  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

Then  Tommy  was  the  president  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad  Company  !  I  did  not  know  this  before  ; 
his  zeal  was  fully  explained,  and  I  was  all  the  more 
pleased  that  I  had  permitted  him  to  exercise  the 
lion's  share  of  the  authority. 

"  Three  cheers  for  Major  Toppleton,"  squeaked  a 
little  fellow,  who  thought  the  magnificent  patron  of 
the  enterprise  had  been  neglected. 

The  great  man  bowed  and  smiled,  as  great  men 
always  do  when  they  are  cheered ;  but  he  did  not 
take  up  any  of  our  valuable  time  by  making  a  speech. 

"  Tommy,  we  want  some  oil  and  some  packing,"  I 
suggested  to  the  president  of  the  road,  after  I  had 
examined  the  machinery  of  the  dummy. 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  start  her  up  to-night, 
Wolf  ? "  asked  Tommy,  anxiously,  after  he  had 
despatched  half  a  dozen  of  his  satellites  for  the 
required  articles. 

"  Certainly  we  can  ;  you  shall  ride  over  to  Spangle- 
port,  and  back  to  Middleport  in  her,"  I  replied. 
"Now  let  some  of  your  fellows  bring  up  water  to 
fill  the  boiler  and  the  tank,  and  we  will  get  up 
steam  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  so." 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  171 

The  boys  returned  from  the  steam  mill  with  pack- 
ing and  oil;  and,  while  others  were  bringing  wood 
and  water,  I  rubbed  up  and  oiled  the  machinery. 
Brooms,  mops,  and  cloths  were  obtained,  and,  under 
Tommy's  direction,  the  passenger  portion  of  the  car 
was  cleaned  and  wiped.  The  engine  had  been  well 
oiled  before  it  was  sent  up  from  Philadelphia,  and  I 
had  nothing  to  do  but  wipe  off  the  water  and  lubri- 
cate the  running  parts.  I  kindled  a  fire  in  the  fur- 
nace, and  when  the  smoke  began  to  pour  out  of  the 
smoke-stack,  the  students  yelled  for  joy. 


172  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OH 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    FIRST    TRIP    OF    THE    DUMMY. 

I  WAS  in  my  element  —  in  charge  of  a  steam 
engine.  Though  I  had  never  seen  a  dummy 
before  this  one,  I  comprehended  the  machinery  at 
a  glance.  I  hardly  heard  the  tumultuous  yells  of 
the  Toppletonians  as  they  manifested  their  joy,  so 
absorbed  was  I  in  the  study  of  the  machine,  and  in 
the  anticipation  of  what  wonderful  things  it  would 
do.  Such  an  excited  crowd  as  that  which  sur- 
rounded me  I  had  never  seen,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  close  the  door  of  the  engine-room  to  keep  them 
out.  I  opened  it  with  due  deference  when  Mr. 
Tommy  Toppleton,  the  president  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad,  made  a  demand  for  admission,  but  I  re- 
morselessly excluded  the  board  of  directors  and 
the  superintendent,  to  their  great  mortification,  no 
doubt;  but  I  did  not  know  them  just  then. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  173 

Tommy  and  hi8  father  were  busily  engaged  in  a 
conversation  which  seemed  to  relate  to  me,  when 
I  rang  the  bell  to  indicate  that  the  engine  was 
ready  for  a  start.  This  announcement  was  greeted 
with  the  usual  volley  of  cheers,  and  the  young  gen- 
tlemen began  to  pile  into  the  passenger  apartment 
to  a  degree  which  perilled  the  powers  of  the  car. 
There  were  at  least  a  hundred  of  them,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  accommodate  the  whole.  The  major 
directed  his  son  to  divide  them  into  two  companies; 
and,  though  all  of  them  manifested  a  childish  im- 
patience to  have  the  first  ride,  they  submitted  to 
the  arrangement.  Fifty  of  them  filled  the  car,  and 
Major  Toppleton  and  Tommy  honored  me  with  theii 
company  in  the  engine-room. 

"  All  aboard ! "  shouted  the  president. 

"I  think  they  need  no  such  invitation,"  I  added 
laughing. 

"  We  must  do  things  up  in  shape,  you  know.  We 
are  all  ready  now,  Wolf,"  replied  Tommy,  highly 
excited. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  the  road  on  which 
I  am  to  run,  Mr.  President,"  I  suggested,  as  a  prep- 
aration for  any  accident  which  might  happen. 


174  THROUGH  BT  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"The  road  is  all  right,  you  may  depend  upon 
that,"  answered  Tommy. 

"Of  course,  if  the  rails  happen  to  be  spread,  or 
anything  of  that  sort,  we  shall  be  thrown  off  the 
track." 

"I  sent  a  man  over  it  with  a  gauge,  yesterday, 
and  he  reported  it  to  be  in  perfect  condition,"  in- 
terposed the  major.  "  It  would  be  very  unfortuate 
to  have  any  accident  happen,  and  I  have  taken 
every  precaution  to  guard  against  one." 

"  I  think  we  had  better  run  very  slowly  the  first 
time,"  I  replied. 

"  You  can't  be  too  careful,  young  man." 

"  Let  her  drive,  Wolf !  "  said  Tommy,  impatiently. 

I  let  off  the  brake,  and  opened  the  valve.  The 
steam  hissed  in  the  most  natural  and  encouraging 
manner,  and  the  dummy  began  to  move,  amid  the 
shouts  of  those  on  board  and  those  on  the  ground. 
The  road  was  very  level  and  straight,  and  the  car 
moved  as  easily  as  a  boat  in  the  water,  though  the 
engine  made  a  disagreeable  puffing  and  twanging 
noise  in  its  action. 

"  Here  we  go ! "  roared  Tommy,  at  the  top  of  his 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  175 

lungs,  swinging  his  cap  to  the  boys  who  stood  at 
the  sides,  looking  in  at  the  door.      "  This  is  bully ! " 

"  Exceedingly  bully !  "  laughed  his  father. 

"I  should  like  to  run  through  some  of  the  Wim- 
pleton  fellows  about  this  time,"  added  the  president. 
"  They  would  find  out  that  our  side  of  the  lake  is 
wide  awake." 

I  did  not  care  to  present  myself  to  the  Wimple- 
tonians  just  at  that  moment.  If  I  had,  I  should 
have  been  mobbed  as  a  traitor  to  "my  own  side ; 
though,  after  the  treatment  which  Centreport,  in 
the  persons  of  its  magnate  and  its  magnate's  son, 
had  bestowed  upon  me,  my  conscience  did  not  re-, 
proach  me  for  infidelity.  I  bad  actually  been  driven 
out  of  the  place,  and  the  colonel  had  no  right  to 
expect  anything  different  from  me. 

The  dummy  went  along  very  smoothly,  and 
worked  so  well  that  I  ventured  to  "let  her  out" 
a  little  more.  The  outsiders,  in  their  excitement, 
had  followed  us  so  far;  but,  as  I  let  on  the  steam, 
we  ran  away  from  them,  the  outsiders  giving  a  rous- 
ing cheer  as  we  distanced  them.  The  ground  on 
which  the   road  was  laid  was   nearly  a  dead  level, 


176  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

though  in  some  places  a  shelf  on  the  side  hill  on 
the  border  of  the  lake  had  been  dug  out.  Between 
Spangleport  and  the  other  terminus,  two  bridges  had 
been  built  over  a  couple  of  brooks,  and  the  expense 
of  constructing  the  road  was  little  more  than  the 
cost  of  sleepers  and  rails. 

In  about  half  an  hour  we  reached  Spangleport, 
which  consisted  of  a  wharf,  a  store,  and  about  a 
dozen  houses,  on  the  lake  shore,  though  there  was 
quite  a  large  village  a  mile  distant.  The  occupants 
of  the  dozen  houses  turned  out  in  a  body,  as  the 
dummy  went  hissing  and  sizzling  on  its  way.  The 
students  yelled  and  cheered,  and  the  Spangleport- 
ers  manifested  their  enthusiasm  in  a  proper  man- 
ner. It  was  a  great  occasion  for  Spangleport,  and 
both  natives  and  visitors  made  the  most  of  it  dur- 
ing the  few  moments  we  remained. 

As  there  was  no  turn-table,  we  were  obliged  to 
run  to  Middleport  backwards ;  but  one  of  the  con- 
ductors was  ])laced  on  the  forward  platform  to  keep 
a  lookout,  and  as  he  could  ring  a  bell  in  the  engine- 
room  by  pulling  the  strap,  the  car  could  be  stopped 
)n  an  instant.     But  there  were  no  road  crossings  or 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  177 

obstructions  of  any  kind  to  bother  us,  and  we  went 
ahead  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  rushing  through  the 
crowd  of  students  we  had  left  where  the  dummy- 
was  raised,  and  stopping  only  when  we  reached 
Middleport. 

The  whole  village  turned  out  to  greet  the  dummy 
when  she  appeared;  but  we  left  our  freight,  and  im- 
mediately returned  to  take  up  the  waiting  party, 
who  were  impatiently  anticipating  their  first  ride  on 
the  machine.  I  was  beginning  to  grow  tired  of 
yelling  and  cheering;  for  I  was  not  disposed  to  be 
very  demonstrative  myself,  and  I  hoped  the  novelty 
would  soon  wear  off,  so  that  we  could  move  with- 
out seeming  like  a  horde  of  wild  Indians.  Proba- 
bly I  did  not  enjoy  the  stirring  events  of  the  day 
as  much  as  I  should  if  I  had  had  no  trouble  oa 
the  other  side  of  the  lake ;  for,  in  spite,  of  the  ex- 
citement of  running  the  dummy,  I  could  not  help 
thinking,  occasionally,  of  my  poor  mother,  who  was 
wondering  what  had  become  of  me.  I  dreaded  to 
hear  from  my  father,  for  I  was  afraid  that  he  had 
renewed  his  drinking  after  I  left  the  boat.  It 
seemed  to  me  just  as  though  our  happy  family 
12 


178  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OK 

had  been  broken  in  pieces  by  the  events  of  that 
day;  and  I  could  not  shake  off  a  certain  degree 
of  sadness  that  hung  over  me. 

I  stopped  the  engine  when  we  came  to  the  party 
of  students  who  were  waiting  for  us,  and  they  piled 
in  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  Tommy  shouted,  "All 
aboard ! "  after  he  was  positively  sure  that  every 
fellow  was  in  the  car ;  and  we  went  off  again  in 
the  midst  of  a  din  of  cheers  and  yells  that  would 
have  beggared  Bedlam. 

"  Let  her  slide  now  —  can't  you,  Wolf? "  said 
Tommy.     "  Make  her  spin ! " 

"  I  don't  like  to  run  her  too  fast,  till  she  gets  a 
little  used  to  it,"  I  replied. 

"  Are  you  afraid  of  her  ?  " 

"  No ;  but  it's  all  a  new  thing,  and  we  must  be 
careful,  as  your  father  said. 

"  Father  isn't  here,  now,"  answered  Tommy ;  for 
the  young  gentleman  had  insisted  that  the  machine 
should  be  run  by  the  boys  alone  on  this  trip. 

"  I  don't  want  to  smash  you  up,  Mr.  President ; 
but  I  will  obey  orders." 

"All  right;  let  her  slide." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  179 

I  let  her  go  as  fast  as  I  thought  it  was  safe 
for  her  to  go ;  but  I  did  not  regard  Tommy  as  a 
very  safe  president.  By  this  time  I  felt  quite  at 
home  on  the  engine ;  but  I  should  have  enjoyed  it 
more  if  I  had  been  alone,  for  I  did  not  like  the 
interference  of  my  companion.  I  foresaw  that,  under 
his  direction,  many  risks  must  be  run,  and  that  it 
would  be  difficult  always  to  keep  on  the  right  side 
of  him.  He  was  good-natured  now,  but  I  knew 
very  well  that  such  was  not  his  invariable  habit. 
Like  Waddie  Wimpleton,  he  was  disposed  to  be 
tyrannical  and  overbearing.  He  liked  his  own  way, 
and  it  was  not  very  pleasant  to  think  of  being  his 
dependant. 

We  ran  up  to  Spangleport;  and,  after  a  vast 
amount  of  cheering  and  yelling  by  the  boys,  and 
a  reasonable  display  of  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of 
the  inhabitants,  we  started  for  the  return.  Tommy 
wanted  to  go  faster;  and  I  was  very  much  afraid 
I  should  have  a  quarrel  with  him  before  night.  Run- 
ning backwards,  I  could  not  see  anything  ahead  of 
the  dummy,  and  I  had  not  entire  confidence  in  the 
lookout   on  the   forward   platform.      Fortunately   we 


180  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

had  not  a  large  supply  of  fuel  on  board,  and  this 
afforded  me  a  sufficient  excuse  for  not  getting  up 
too  much  steam. 

We  ran  into  Middleport,  where  the  rest  of  the 
students,  and  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren were  waiting  to  see  more  of  the  dummy.  By 
this  time  it  was  well  dried  off,  and  all  the  var- 
nished parts  had  been  rubbed  by  the  boys  till  it 
looked  as  good  as  new.  A  house  had  already  been 
built  for  the  engine,  near  the  Institute.  It  was  pro- 
vided with  a  water  cistern,  from  which  the  tanks 
in  the  engine  could  be  filled,  and  with  other  con- 
veniences for  taking  care  of  it. 

When  the  people  had  examined  the  car  to  their 
satisfaction,  I  ran  it  into  the  engine-house,  put  out 
the  fire,  and  placed  the  machinery  in  proper  order 
for  use  the  next  day.  My  work  for  that  occasion 
was  done,  and  I  felt  that  I  had  "  put  her  through 
by  daylight." 

"  Now,  Wolf,  father  wants  to  see  you  at  the 
house,"  said  Tommy,  when  I  had  finished  my  task 
on  the  engine. 

"  What  does  he  want  of  me  ? "  I  asked,  curiously. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  181 

"O,  he  wants  to  see  you,"  answered  the  young 
gentleman ;  and  he  deemed  this  a  sufficient  reason 
why  I  should  do  as  I  was  asked. 

I  followed  Tommy  to  the  great  mansion,  and  was 
ushered  into  the  library,  where  the  major  was  read- 
ing the  newspapers  which  had  just  come  by  the 
mail. 

"Well,  Wolf,  I'm  glad  to  see  you,"  said  the  mag- 
nate of  Middleport,  laying  aside  his  paper.  "  You 
have  done  more  than  a  man's  work  to-day,  and  I 
want  to  pay  you  for  it.  Will  a  hundred  dollars 
satisfy  you  for  your  afternoon's  job  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  more  too ;  I  don't  ask  anything 
for  what  I  have  done,"  I  replied. 

"  Don't  be  too  modest,  my  boy,"  added  the  major, 
placing  a  roll  of  bank  bills  in  my  hand. 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you,  sir.  I  didn't 
ask  or  expect  anything.  I  only  came  over  here 
because  I  had  to  leave  Centreport,  and  I  did  the 
work  for  the  fun  of  it." 

"  Doubtless  it  was  good  fun  ;  but  you  have  done 
us  a  good  turn,  and  I  have  not  overpaid  you.  Now 
tell  me  about  your  difficulty  with  Wimpleton." 


182  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

I  told  him  the  story  about  the  events  of  the  day. 
I  think  it  quite  likely  the  major  thought  he  was 
encouraging  a  rebel;  but  he  did  not  express  any 
dissatisfaction  with  my  conduct.  On  the  contrary 
he  praised  my  spirit,  and  declared  that  Middleport 
would  be  glad  to  take  me  up,  if  Centreport  wished 
to  cast  me  out.  He  then  offered  me  a  dollar  a  day 
to  run  the  dummy ;  but  I  told  him  I  could  not  ac- 
cejDt  it  till  I  had  consulted  my  father  and  mother, 
and  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  see  him  the 
next  day. 

I  then  went  to  the  shore,  took  my  skiff,  and  rowed 
across  the  lake,  feeling  like  a  rich  man. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  183 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


MOTHER  S   ADVICE. 


FOR  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  had  some  fears 
in  regard  to  meeting  my  father.  I  dreaded 
the  terrible  infirmity  which  was  beginning  to  develop 
itself  anew  in  him.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  see  him;  and  with  a  hun- 
dred dollars  in  my  pocket  —  the  first  money  I  had 
ever  earned  by  my  knowledge  and  skill  —  I  should 
have  been  delighted  to  tell  him  the  history  of  the 
day.  I  should  have  been  sure  of  a  proud  and  sym- 
pathetic listener  in  him  as  I  detailed  the  means  I 
had  used  to  raise  the  dummy. 

I  feared  two  things  —  first,  that  he  would  be  in- 
toxicated ;  and  second,  that  he  would  remember 
against  me  the  deed  I  had  done  with  the  strange- 
looking  bottle  in  the  forenoon.  In  relation,  to  the 
latter,  I  had  come  to  see  that  the  destruction  of  the 


184  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

whiskey  was  not  the  only  or  the  greater  cause  of 
offence.  By  emptying  the  bottle,  I  had  censured 
him,  virtually,  and  made  myself  a  judge  of  his  con- 
dition and  conduct.  My  father  was  a  plucky  man, 
in  spite  of  his  position  as  an  employee  of  Colonel 
Wimpleton,  and,  right  or  wrong,  would  not  suffer 
any  one  to  be  a  censor  upon  his  actions. 

I  feared  that  his  anger  would  not  go  down  with 
the  sun ;  and  I  had  an  utter  horror  of  any  quarrel 
in  the  family.  Besides,  I  had  a  great  admiration  of 
my  father.  I  considered  him  one  of  the  best  and 
one  of  the  most  skilful  men  of  his  craft  on  the  lake. 
I  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  any  coldness  on 
his  part,  or  the  feeling  that  I  had  suffered  in  his 
estimation.  I  knew  he  had  been  proud  of  me  as  .a 
scholar,  and  especially  proud  of  the  reputation  I  had 
earned  as  a  young  engineer.  My  readers,  therefore, 
will  not  be  surprised  when  I  say  that  my  bosom 
bounded  with  emotion  as  I  thought  of  meeting  him 
after  the  occurrences  of  the  day.  If  he  was  only 
sober,  and  in  his  right  mind,  all  would  be  well 
with  me. 

I  had   heard    in    Middleport   that   the    Ruoara,  on 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEE.  185 

her  clown  trip,  had  obtained  an  engineer  at  Hitaca  ; 
therefore  I  supposed  my  father  had  gone  home. 
The  storekeeper  on  the  wharf  had  seen  him ;  but  I 
did  not  dare  to  ask  whether  he  was  intoxicated. 
Never  before,  I  repeat,  had  I  gone  to  my  father's 
house  with  any  doubts  or  misgivings.  It  was  quite 
dark  when  I  reached  the  mill  wharf,  and  secured  my 
skiff  at  its  moorings.  When  I  started  from  Middle- 
port  with  a  hundred  dollars  in  my  pocket,  I  felt  like 
a  rich  man.  During  my  silent  pull  across  the  lake  I 
thought  of  our  family  trouble,  and  when  I  landed  at 
Centreport  I  felt  as  though  I  had  lost  a  hundred 
dollars,  and  that  I  was  even  poorer  than  usual. 

With  stealthy  step  I  crept  through  the  garden, 
fearful  that  I  might  encounter  my  father  intoxicated. 
There  was  a  light  in  the  kitchen,  and  I  stood  on 
tiptoe,  so  that  I  could  look  in  at  the  window.  My 
father  was  not  there.  The  supper  table  was  waiting 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  my  good  mother  sat 
at  one  corner  of  it,  sewing,  while  my  two  sisters 
were"  reading  near  her.  I  opened  the  back  door 
and  went  in,  but  not  without  the  fear  that  I  should 
be  told  my  father  was  helpless  in  his  bed. 


186  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

"Why,  Wolfert,  where  have  you  been?"  asked 
my  mother,  rising  as  I  entered.  "  I  needn't  ask  you, 
for  I  have  heard  all  about  it." 

"About  what?" 

"You  have  been  over  to  Middleport,  at  work  for 
the  Toppleton  boys." 

"I  know  it." 

"Why  did  you  do  it?" 

"  Why  shouldn't  I  do  it,  mother  ?  "  I  inquired, 
not  a  little  astonished  to  find  that  she  was  inflamed 
by  the  rivalry  between  the  two  houses. 

"Why  shouldn't  you  do  it!  Because  it  will  make 
trouble,  Wolfert.  When  the  boat  brought  over  the 
news  that  you  had  raised  the  dummy,  or  whatever 
they  call  the  thing,  and  that  you  were  running  it  on 
the  railroad  over  there,  the  people  howled  just  as 
though  you  had  set  the  town  on  fire.  The  Wimple- 
ton  boys  say  they  will  mob  you,  tar  and  feather 
you,  and  I  don't  know  what  not,"  said  my  poor 
mother,  who  apj^eared  to  be  really  suffering  under 
this  manifestation  of  popular  indignation. 

"It  seems  just  as  though  I  am  bound  to  put  my 
foot  in  it,  whether  I  will  or  not.  Do  folks  tell  the 
rest  of  the  story  ?  "  I  inquired. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  187 

"  The  rest  of  what  story  ? "  asked  my  mother, 
opening  her  eyes. 

"  Do  they  say  that  I  was  hunted  out  of  town  like 
a  wild  beast  ?  "  I  demanded,  indignantly. 

"  Why,  no ;  they  didn't  say  anything  of  that  kind 
The  girls  came  home  just  before  dark,  and  said 
everybody  was  talking  about  you ;  that  you  had 
turned  traitor." 

"Perhaps  I  have,  mother;  but  I  don't  care  a  fig 
for  this  three-cent  quarrel  between  the  two  sides  of 
the  lake.  I  hope  you  won't  turn  against  me,  moth- 
er," I  added,  choking  up  with  emotion,  so  that  I 
could  not  speak. 

"  Turn  against  you !  Why,  no,  Wolfert,  I  shall 
never  turn  against  you.  Who  ever  heard  of  such  a 
thing?" 

"  You  seem  to  blame  me  for  what  I  have  done,"  I 
replied,  wiping  away  a  truant  tear,  and  struggling 
hard  for  utterance. 

"  I  only  said  what  you  have  done  will  make 
trouble.  You  know  Colonel  Wimpleton  will  not 
like  it ;    and  he  will  punish  us  all  for  your  acts." 

"I  couldn't  help  it,  mother.    I  was  driven  away." 


188  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

"What  do  you  mean  by  being  driven  away?" 

It  occurred  to  me  that  my  mother  knew  nothing 
of  what  had  happened  since  Waddie  had  called  to 
deliver  the  fictitious  message  from  his  father;  and  I 
told  her  the  whole  story. 

"If  I  know  my  father,  he  would  kick  me  if  I 
should  get  down  on  my  knees  to  Waddie  Wimple- 
ton.     Be  that  as  it  may,  I  won't  do  it,"  I  added. 

"  I  don't  want  you  to  do  it.  If  it  has  come  to 
that,  I  think  we  had  all  better  go  to  the  poorhouse 
at  once,"  said  my  mother,  with  more  spirit  than  I 
remembered  to  have  seen  her  exhibit  before ;  and  I 
felt  then  that  she  was  on  my  side. 

"  We  won't  go  to  the  poorhouse,"  I  replied,  taking 
the  hundred  dollars  from  my  wallet.  "  I  made  that 
to-day." 

My  mother  opened  her  eyes  again,  as  she  was  in 
the  habit  of  doing  when  astonished.  Then  she 
counted  the  money,  and  for  an  instant  a  smile  over- 
spread her  pleasant  face.  To  me  it  was  the  pleas- 
antest  face ,  in  all  the  world,  and  I  had  never  before 
seen  it  saddened  for  so  long  a  time  as  it  had  been 
that  day. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  189 

"  A  hundred  dollars  !  "  exclaimed  she,  looking 
at  me. 

"  Yes,  mother ;  that  is  what  Major  Toppleton  gave 
me  for  getting  the  dummy  out  of  the  water,  and 
putting  it  on  the  track.     It  was  a  good  job." 

"The  major  is  liberal;  and  I  only  wish  he  and 
the  colonel  would  be  friends  again." 

"  I  wish  they  would  ;  but  whether  they  are  or  not, 
I'm  not  going  to  fight  the  battle  of  either  one  of 
them.  Now,  mother,  I  want  to  make  a  clean  breast 
of  it.  What  you  said  to  me  after  the  colonel  went 
away  wasn't  lost  upon  me.  I  was  sorry  I  called 
Waddie  a  liap  to  his  face,  though  all  the  world 
knows  that  he  is  one;  and  I  was  really  sorry  that 
I  had  said  anything  saucy  to  the  colonel.  When 
Waddie  said  he  was  going  to  lick  me,  I  apologized 
to  him;  and  I  did  to  the  colonel  when  I  saw  him. 
I  think  I  did  it  handsomely,  considering  that  they 
were  going  to  lick  me." 

"I'm  glad  you  did,  Wolfert." 

"  It  was  like  pulling  out  half  a  dozen  of  my  teeth 
to  do  it,  but  I  did  it;  and  I  was  sincere  in  doing 
it,  too.     I  won't  go  down  on  my  knees  to  any  one, 


190  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

and  I  won't  confess  a  crime  of  which  I'm  not 
guilty ; "  and  in  my  zeal,  I  struck  the  table  a  blow 
with  my  fist  which  made  all  the  dishes  dance 
upon  it. 

"  Do  right,  Wolfert,  and  pray  to  God  for  strength. 
He  will  help  you,  and  all  will  be  well  in  the  end. 
Have  you  seen  anything  of  your  father?" 

"  I  haven't  seen  him ;  but  he  came  over  on  the 
Ruoara  from  the  other  side.  I  supposed  he  was  at 
home,"  I  replied. 

"  I  haven't  seen  anything  of  him  since  he  went 
out  this  morning,"  she  added,  looking  very  anxious. 

I  ate  my  supper,  still  discussing  the-  exciting  topic 
of  the  day.  I  felt  better;  for,  if  my  mother  was  on 
my  side,  I  could  afford  to  have  almost  everybody  else 
against  me ;  and  she  was  a  Christian  woman,  who 
would  rather  have  buried  me  than  had  me  do  any 
great  wrong.  Whatever  my  readers,  old  and  young, 
may  think  of  me,  I  feel  bound  to  say  that  I  had  tried 
to  do  right.  I  had  been  goaded  into  the  use  of  im- 
pudent speech  by  the  intolerable  tyranny  of  the 
magnate  of  Centreport;  but  I  had  apologized  for  it, 
and  had  been  willing  to  make  any  reasonable  repara- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  191 

tion.  My  mother  had  taught  me,  as  a  child,  to 
go  down  on  my  knees  before  God,  but  never  to 
man. 

I  kissed  my  sisters,  who  were  younger  than  I,  and 
they  went  to  bed  about  eight  o'clock.  My  mother 
and  I  could  now  talk  about  the  condition  of  my 
father,  which  neither  of  us  was  willing  to  do  before 
them.  We  wondered  what  had  become  of  him ;  but 
I  was  pretty  sure  that  he  was  somewhere  in  Cen- 
treport.  It  was  a  new  experience  in  our  family  to 
be  waiting  at  night  for  him,  for  he  always  spent  his 
evenings  at  home. 

I  told  my  mother  of  the  offer  which  Major  Top- 
pleton  had  made  me  to  run  the  dummy.  For  a 
boy  of  my  age,  and  at  a  distance  from  the  great 
city,  the  proposition  was  a  liberal  one,  for  my  father 
only  had  sixty  dollars  a  month.  It  is  true  I  was  to 
do  a  man's  work  for  half  wages ;  but  no  boy  in  that 
region  could  make  half  the  money  offered  to  me  at 
that  time. 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can  take  up  with  the  offer," 
said  my  mother.  "  Colonel  Wimpleton  would  not 
have  anything  to  do  with  us  if  we  did  anything  to 
help  along  the  people  on  the  other  side." 


192  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

"I  don't  know  that  I  can  accept  it,  but  it  is  a 
great  pity  I  cannot,"  I  replied,  moodily ;  for  I  should 
have  been  glad  to  run  the  dummy  for  nothing  if  the 
major  was  not  willing  to  pay  me. 

"  It  is  a  pity ;  but  only  think  how  mad  the  colo- 
nel would  be  if  you  should  go  !  " 

"I  don't  know  that  he  could  be  any  madder  than 
he  is  now.  I  am  sick  and  disgusted  with  this  stupid 
quarrel ! " 

"  I'm  sure  he  would  discharge  your  father  if  he 
should  let  you  go  over  to  Middleport  to  work  for 
the  major.  Those  two  men  hate  each  other  like 
evil  spirits,"  replied  my  mother. 

"  Of  course  I  don't  want  father  to  lose  his  situa- 
tion ;  and  if  it  comes  to  that,  I  suppose  I  must 
decline  the  offer." 

"I  think  you  must,  Wolfert." 

"I  will,  mother,"  I  added,  sorely  aggrieved  at  the 
alternative.  "  I  will  not  do  anything  to  make  a 
quarrel,  though  I  think  it  is  about  time  I  should  be 
earning  something." 

"Perhaps  there  will  be  a  chance  for  you  on  this 
side ;  for  I  am  sure  the  colonel  will  do  something 
to  get   even   with    the    major  on  that  railroad.      He 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  193 

will    get    up    another    railroad,    a   balloon,  a    flying 
machine,  or  something  or  other." 

"  He  can't  build  any  railroad  on  this  side,"  I  re- 
plied. "  The  country  is  so  rough  that  it  would  cost 
him  all  he  is  worth.  But  if  he  did,  he  wouldn't 
give  me  anything  to  do  upon  it." 

"  Perhaps  he  —  " 

My  mother's  remark  was  interrupted  by  a  noise  in 
the  garden  ;  and,  fearful  that  my  poor  father  had 
come  home  in  a  helpless  condition,  I  went  out  to 
ascertain  the  cause  of  it.  It  was  not  my  father ;  but 
I  heard  sounds  which  indicated  that  several  persons 
were  running  away  from  the  house.  I  ran  to  the 
fence,  and  saw  three  boys  hastening  up  the  road 
towards  the  Institute.  If  I  was  not  much  mistaken, 
"Waddie  Wimpleton  was  one  of  them ;  and  I  con- 
cluded that  he  was  still  intent  upon  punishing  me 
for  calling  him  a  liar. 

As  I  was  about  to  go  into  the  house,  I  discovered 
another  form  in  the  darkness,  walking  down  the  road. 
I  knew  the  step.  It  was  my  father.  I  was  very 
thankful  that  he  was  able  to  walk,  though  I  noticed 
that  his  step  was  a  little  unsteady. 
13 


194  THE0UGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

waddie's  mistake. 

I  HASTENED  into  the  house,  and  told  my 
mother  that  father  was  coming.  She  bestowed 
upon  me  a  glance  so  full  of  anxiety  that  I  compre- 
hended the  question  she  desired  to  ask,  and  I 
added  that  he  walked  tolerably  well. 

"  Was  it  he  that  made  the  noise  we  heard  ? "  she 
inquired. 

"No;  some  of  the  students  have  been  around 
nere,  and   I   think  I  saw  Waddie,"  I  replied. 

"What  do  they  want?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  I  suppose  they  wish  to  see 
me." 

"Do  be  careful,  Wolfert." 

"I'm  not  afraid  of  them,  mother.  I  think  I  can 
take  care  of  myself  in  the  face  of  the  whole  crowd." 

My  father  came  in  at  the  back  door,  interrupting 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  195 

the  conversation.  His  step  was  unsteady  and  his 
movements  uncertain.  He  staid  a  long  time  in  the 
entry  putting  away  his  hat,  but  at  last  he  entered 
the  kitchen.  He  made  desperate  struggles  to  con- 
ceal his  condition ;  but  he  failed  to  do  so.  I  could 
see  my  poor  mother's  bosom  bounding  with  emo- 
tion as  the  days  of  evil  came  back  to  her  from  the 
past.  There  was  a  tear  in  her  eye;  but  she  spoke 
not  a  word  of  reproach.  My  father  walked  across 
the  room  to  his  accustomed  chair,  and  dropped 
heavily  into  it. 

"  "Wolf! "  said  he,  in  a  tone  which  was  intended 
to  be  sharp,  but  which  was  very  thick  from  the 
effects  of  the  liquor. 

"  I  am  here,  father,"  I  replied,  as  little  able  to 
control  my  feelings  as  my  mother. 

"  You  have  been  a  bad  boy !  "  he  added,  fiercely. 
"  You   have   disgraced   your  father  !  " 

I  thought  not,  but  I  did  not  deem  it  advisable 
to  say  so,  or  to  utter  a  word  that  would  irritate 
him. 

"  I  used  to  think  you  were  a  smart  boy ;  but 
now  I  think  you  are  a  fool,"  he  continued,  with  an 


196  THROUGH    BT    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

oath,  which  I  had  never  before  heard  him  use. 
"  With  a  pistol  in  your  hand  you  let  Christy  carry 
off  all  my  money.  I  wouldn't  say  anything  about 
that,  but  you  came  home,  insulted  and  abused  Colo- 
nel Wimp'ton  and  his  son.  You  hadn't  done  your 
worst  yet;  so  you  went  over  to  Middleport,  and 
turned  traitor  to  the  friends  that  feed  and  clothe 
you.     I  know  all  about  it!" 

It  was  no  use  to  talk  about  these  things  while  he 
was  in  his  present  condition,  and  I  held  my  peace. 

"  I've  seen  Colonel  Wimp'ton,  and  he  ztold  me 
all  about  it,"  my  father  went  on,  rapping  the  table 
violently  with  his  fist.  "I  won't  have  my  boy 
behave  zo.     I'll  lick  him  first." 

"  Why,  father,  Wolfert  has  not  done  anything 
bad,"  interposed   my  mother. 

"  I  zsay  he  has ! "  replied  my  father,  furiously. 
"He'n  Waddie  blowed  up  that  canal  boat.  Then 
Wolf  denied  it,  and  insulted  his  best  friends.  Then 
he  went  off  and  run  that  dummy." 

"Don't  say  anything,  mother,"  said  I  to  her,  in 
a  low  tone. 

"  What's  that  ?  "   demanded  my  father,  suspicious- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  197 

ly.  What  did  you  say,  Wolf?  Do  you  mean  to 
insult  me,  as  you  did  Colonel  Wimp'ton  ? " 

But  I  will  not  follow  this  unpleasant  scene  any 
fui'ther  in  detail.  It  was  evident  that  my  father 
had  seen  the  magnate  of  Centreport,  and  that  the 
great  man  had  won  him  over.  He  was  stormy, 
violent,  and  suspicious.  He  was  angry  with  me, 
and  then  with  my  mother  for  speaking  a  word  in 
my  defence.  Finally  he  wept  like  a  child,  declar- 
ing that  his  family  had  turned  against  him ;  and, 
overwhelmed  by  this  maudlin  grief,  he  went  up  stairs 
and  threw  himself  upon  my  bed.  I  think  he  in- 
tended to  occupy  the  spare  chamber  on  the  other 
side  of  the  entry,  for  he  was  so  angry  with  my 
mother  and  me  that  he  was  intent  upon  getting 
away  from  us. 

We  decided  that  it  would  be  best  to  let  him 
alone.  He  lay  sobbing  on  the  bed  for  a  time,  and 
then  dropped  asleep.  My  mother  went  in,  and 
having  assured  herself  that  he  was  in  a  comfortable 
position,  took  away  the  lamp.  She  and  I  sat  up 
till  midnight,  talking  over  the  bitter  prospect  before 
us.    In  his  cups  my  father  was  another  man.    My 


198  THEOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

mother  told  me,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  that  he  had 
abused  her  when  he  used  to  drink  before.  In  his 
intoxication  he  seemed  to  hate  the  family  he  loved 
so  well  when   he  was  sober. 

At  midnight  he  was  still  sleeping  off  the  effects 
of  his  debauch,  and  we  retired,  hoping  for  better 
things  in  the  morning.  I  was  so  tired  that  I  went 
to  sleep  very  soon.  I  occupied  the  spare  chamber 
on  the  second  floor,  while  my  mother's  room  was 
down  stairs.  I  do  not  know  how  long  I  had  slept, 
but  I  was  awakened  by  a  violent  noise  in  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  house,  which  seemed  to  come  from 
the  apartment  where  my  father  was.  I  was  star- 
tled, and  immediately  leaped  out  of  bed,  lighted  a 
lamp,  and  hastily  put  on  my  clothes.  Hearing  my 
father's  voice  in  excited  tones,  I  rushed  to  the  room 
with  the  lamp  in  my  hand.  I  feared  that  the  liquor 
he  had  drank  had  in  some  manner  affected  his 
brain,  and  induced  a  delirium. 

I  opened  the  door.  I  saw  my  father  standing 
over  the  prostrate  form  of  "Waddie  Wimpleton.  The 
window  was  wide  open,  and  I  heard  voices  outside, 
as  of  other  boys  effecting  a  hasty  retreat.      Waddie 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEJB.  199 

lay  still  upon  the  floor,  and  his  face  was  covered 
with  blood. 

"What  is  the  matter,  father?"  I  asked,  terrified 
at  the  strange  sight  which   I  beheld. 

"  Don't  you  see  what  the  matter  is  ?  "  replied  my 
father;  but  he  seemed  to  be  very  much  confused. 

"  What  has  happened  ?  " 

"  I  hardly  know,"  answered  he,  gazing  at  the  form 
of  Waddie. 

My  father  had  slept  several  hours,  and  he  ap- 
pearecl  to  be  quite  sober. 

"  This  is  Waddie  Wimpleton,"  said  I,  bending  over 
the  fallen  youth. 

"  I  see  it  is.  I  felt  a  hand  upon  me,  and  I  started 
up  from  the  bed.  Some  one  caught  hold  of  me, 
and  I  struck  right  and  left,  till  I  heard  some  one 
fall,"  answered  my  father,  rubbing  his  eyes,  as  if  to 
stimulate  his  bewildered  senses.  "  I  thought  it  was 
some  one  who  had  come  to  rob  me,  and  I  couldn't 
help  believing  it  was  Christy  Holgate." 

"What  in  the  world  is  the  matter?"  cried  my 
mother,  who  now  came  into  the  room,  pale  and 
trembling  with  terror. 


200  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

I  explained,  as  far  as  I  could,  the  circumstances 
of  the  affair.  My  father  said  nothing,  but  went  to 
the  window  and  looked  out. 

"  There   is    a  ladder  under   the  window,"  said  he. 

"  But  Waddie  is  not  a  robber,"  added  my  mother, 
kneeling  on  the  floor  at  his  side.  "His  face  is  cut, 
and  he  seems  to  be  stunned." 

My  father  and  I  lifted  him  up,  and  placed  him 
on  the  bed.  My  mother  went  to  work  upon  him, 
sending  me  down  to  assure  my  sisters  that  no  harm 
could  come  to  them.  I  brought  up  some  water 
and  the  camphor  bottle.  On  my  return  my  father 
seemed  to  be  quite  like  himself,  and  was  assisting 
in  the  restoration  of  the  injured  boy. 

"He  isn't  badly  hurt,  I  think,"  said  my  mother. 
"  One  of  his  front  teeth  is  knocked  in,  and  the  blood 
on  his  face  comes  from  a  mere  scratch.  What  in 
the  world  was  he  doing  here?" 

"I  understand  it  now,"  I  replied.  "Waddie  and 
the  other  fellows  were  after  me.  I  saw  them  around 
the  house  about  eight  o'clock." 

"  What  do  they  want  of  you  ?  "  asked  my  father, 
whose  head  had  been  filled  with  the  other  side  of 
the  story. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  201 

"They  were  going  to  punish  me,  I  suppose,  for 
what  I  said  to  Waddie  and  his  father,  though  I 
apologized  to  both  of  them  for  it." 

"  What  is  to  be  done  with  this  boy  ?  "  interposed 
my  mother,  anxiously,  as  Wadclie  opened  his  eyes, 
and  looked  wildly  around  the  room.  "  I  think  the 
doctor  had  better  see  him." 

I  went  for  the  doctor,  and  came  back  with  him, 
for  he  had  just  returned  from  a  night  visit  to  a 
distant  patient,  and  his  horse  was  harnessed  at  the 
door.  When  we  arrived,  Waddie  was  sitting  up 
in  the  kitchen.  The  physician  examined  his  head, 
and  declared  that  he  had  sustained  no  injury  that  he 
could  perceive.  My  father,  who  had  been  alarmed 
for  the  consequences  of  the  blow  he  had  struck, 
breathed  easier  after  this  announcement. 

"I'm  going  home,"  said  Waddie,  rising  from  the 
chair,  after  the  doctor  had  finished  his  examination. 
"I'll  bet  you  haven't  theen  the  latht  of  thith  thcrape. 
Ithall  — " 

The  scion  put  his  hand  up  to  his  mouth,  and  won. 
dered  why  he  could  not  speak  without  lisping.  Hfe 
had  fully   recovered  his   senses,  under  the   vigorous 


202  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

treatment  of  my  mother,  and  with  them  came  back 
the  evil  spirit  which  controlled  him. 

"  What  were  you  doing  in  my  house,  Waddie  ?  " 
asked  my  father. 

"What  wath  I  doing?  I  wath  going  to  give 
Wolf  fitth  for  being  a  traitor  and  calling  me  a  liar. 
And  I'll  do  it  yet,  if  it  coths  me  my  life ! "  replied 
Waddie,  vigorously,  as  he  held  one  hand  on  his 
mouth. 

"  I  didn't  think  you'd  break  into  a  man's  house  in 
the  night,"  added  my  father. 

"Wolf  ith  going  to  work  on  the  other  thide,  and 
that'th  the  only  time  we  could  catch  him.  What 
did  you  hit  me  for  ? "  demanded  the  scion,  rubbing 
his  sore  head  with  his  hand. 

"  I  did  not  know  it  was  you,  Waddie,"  answered 
my  father,  meekly.  "  You  came  into  my  room  in 
the   dark,   when   I   was   asleep." 

"It  wathn't  your  room.  It  wath  Wolf'th  room. 
What  were  you  doing  in  there?" 

"  It's  my  own  house,  and  I  have  a  right  to  occupy 
any  room  I  please,"  said  my  father,  with  more  spirit 
than  before. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  203 

"You  were  boothy  latht  night,  and  didn't  know 
what  you  were  about." 

My  father's  brow  contracted,  and  his  lips  were 
compressed.  To  be  told  that  he  was  intoxicated 
galled  him  sorely.  Waddie  declared  that  he  had 
struck  him  on  purpose,  and  that  he  should  suffer 
for  it.  The  doctor  then  took  him  into  his  chaise, 
and  conveyed  him  to  his  home.  My  father  was 
not  satisfied  with  the  situation.  He  went  to  the 
pump,  and  drank  a  large  mug  of  water.  He  walked 
up  and  down  the  kitchMi  in  silence  for  a  moment, 
and  then  said  he  must  see  Colonel  Wimpleton  at 
once.  He  went,  and  by  going  through  the  grove 
he  could  reach  the  house   as  soon   as  the  doctor. 

I  did  not  see  him  again  that  night,  and  he  did 
not  come  out  of  his  room  till  eight  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  I  was  very  anxious  to  know  how  he 
would  regard  me,  after  the  hard  words  he  had 
spoken  the  night  before.  I  was  also  curious  to  learn 
what  had  passed  at  Colonel  Wimpleton's  during 
his  visit.  Our  relations  with  the  magnate  were  cer- 
tainly very  singular  and  perplexing.  As  nearly  as 
I   could  judge,   my  father  stood  exactly  in  my  own 


204  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

position  in  regard  to  him.  Neither  of  us  had  in- 
tended to  insult  or  injure  the  great  man  or  his  son, 
but  both  had  incurred  his  displeasure ;  for  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  colonel  to  forgive  the  unwit- 
ting blow  my  father  had  struck. 

"Wolf,"  said  my  father,  after  he  had  eaten  his 
breakfast,  "your  mother  tells  me  you  have  an  offer 
on  the  other  side." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"You  may  accept  it,  and  go  to  work  to-day,  if 
you  wish."  ^ 

"I  should  be  very  glad  to  do  so,"  I  replied.  "Did 
you  have  any  trouble  with  Colonel  Wimpleton  ? " 

"  I  did.  He  discharged  me,  and  ordered  me  out 
of  his  house,"   he  answered,  gloomily. 

Of  one  thing  I  was  sure  —  my  father  was  not 
angry  with  me. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  205 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RICH  MEN'S    QTTAEEELS. 

MY  father  was  himself  again.  He  was  clothed 
in  his  right  mind  once  more.  He  even  ap- 
peared to  have  forgotten  that  I  had  emptied  the 
Dottle  the  day  before,  and  treated  me  as  kindly  as 
though  nothing  had  occurred  to  mar  the  unity 
which  had  always  subsisted  between  us.  My  mother 
seemed  to  be  quite  happy,  too ;  and,  while  I  was 
at  work  in  the  garden,  she  told  me  she  had  talked 
till  daylight  with  him,  after  his  return  from  Colonel 
Wimpleton's.  He  had  bitterly  bewailed  his  error^ 
and  solemnly  promised  not  to  taste  another  drop 
of  liquor.  He  was  conscious  that  he  had  lost  hi? 
twenty-four  hundred  dollars  by  getting  intoxicated, 
and  he  had  very  little  hope  of  ever  seeing  it  again. 
More  than  this,  my  mother  had  explained  my 
conduct  to  him,  and  he  was  satisfied  with  it.     The 


206  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

night  visit  of  Waddle,  and  the  colonel's  unreason- 
able harshness  to  him,  had  probably  done  more  to 
convince  him  than  any  words  of  my  mother.  He 
had  lost  his  situation,  and  had  been  treated  with 
gross  injustice,  for  the  great  man  would  not  accept 
his  explanation  of  the  blow  he  had  given  his  son. 

"  Wolf,"  said  my  father,  after  he  had  granted  me 
permission  to  accept  Major  Toppleton's  offer,  "  I  am 
afraid  we  shall  soon  be  in  trouble  all  round." 

"I  hope  not." 

"  If  I  had  the  money  to  pay  off  the  mortgage 
on  the  house,  I  should  not  care  so  much.  As  it 
is,  I  may  lose  even  the  thousand  dollars  I  have  paid 
on  it.  The  colonel  will  foreclose  on  me  at  once, 
and  people  here  will  not  dare  to  bid  when  it  is  put 
up  at  auction,  if  he  tells  them  not  to  do  so." 

"  I  heard  you  say  you  had  an  offer  of  thirty-five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  place." 

"  So  I  had ;  Bingham  offered  that  for  it." 

"  I  would  go  to  him,  and  take  the  offer  at  once." 

"What,  sell  the  place?" 

"  Yes ;  you  can  pay  off  the  mortgage,  and  then 
have  fifteen  hundred  left." 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEEB.  207 

"  That's  a  good  idea,"  replied  my  father.  "  But  I 
don't  know  that  Bingham  will  give  thirty-five  hun- 
dred now." 

"I  would  try  him,  at  any  rate.  I  think  we  had 
better  move  out  of  Centreport." 

"Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well,  after  what  has  hap- 
pened," said  he,  in  deep  thought.  "  I  will  see  what 
can  be  done." 

My  father  hastened  to  the  village  to  see  Bing- 
ham, and  soon  after  I  pulled  across  the  lake  to  re- 
port for  duty  to  Major  Toppleton.  I  was  shown 
into  his  elegant  library ;  but  I  found  the  magnate 
of  Middleport  in  violent  wrath. 

"I  have  called,  sir,  to  say  that  I  will  accept  the 
offer  you  were  so  kind  as  to  make  to  me  yesterday," 
I  began,  with  the  utmost  deference. 

"  Very  well,  boy.  I  am  a  man  of  honor,  which 
cannot  be  said  of  every  man  who  lives  on  the  other 
side  of  the  lake,"  —  by  which,  of  course,  he  meant 
Colonel  Wimpleton,  — "  and  I  will  keep  my  agree- 
ment ;  but  if  the  business  were  to  be  done  over 
again,  I  wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  a  per- 
son from  Centreport." 


208  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OK, 

"  I'm  sorry  you  think  so  hard  of  us,  sir,"  I  ven- 
tured to  reply.  "I  will  do  the  very  hest  I  can  for 
you;  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  live  in  Centreport 
much  longer." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  that  I  need  to  blame  you 
for  what  Wimpleton  does.  He  is  a  mean  man,  and 
his  soul  is  smaller  than  a  mosquito's.  This  morn- 
ing the  old  rascal  sent  his  agent  over  here  to  offer 
the  engineer  of  my  flour  mills  twenty  dollars  a 
month  more  than  he  is  getting  now.  The  villain 
was  paid  up  to  last  night,  and  left  without  giving 
me  any  notice,  and  my  mills  are  all  stopped." 

Major  Toppleton  walked  the  library  in  a  violent 
rage,  and  I  waited  for  further  developments  before 
I  dared  to  speak. 

"  He  hired  my  engineer  away  from  me,  I'm  told, 
because  I  employed  you,"  added  the  magnate,  paus- 
ing before  me. 

"  I'm  very  sorry  I  made  any  trouble,"  I  answered, 
diffidently. 

"  You  didn't  make  it.  I  only  wonder  how  Wim- 
pleton was  my  friend  for  so  many  years.  He  omits 
no  opportunity  to  stab  me  when  he  gets  a  chance. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  ^09 

I   suppose   he   is   gloating   over   it   now    because   no 
smoke  rises  from  my  mills." 

"  Do  you  want  an  engineer,  sir  ?  "  I  had  the  a^ 
dacity  to  ask,  at  this  opportune  moment. 

"  Of  course  I  do.  Wimpleton  sent  over  for  mine 
solely  to  vex  me,  and  I  would  give  a  thousand  dol- 
lars to  be  even  with  him  this  moment." 

"  I  can  run  the  engine  of  your  mills,"  I  replied. 

"You?" 

"Yes,  sir;  I  have  run  the  Centreport  mills  for  a 
week  at  a  time." 

"  But  I  want  you  on  the  dummy." 

"I  will  bring  you  an  engineer,  then,  in  an  hour. 
What  wages  will  you  give,  sir?" 

"I  will  give  the  same  that  Wimpleton  pays  the 
man  he  stole  from  me  —  eighty  dollars  a  month,  and 
engage  him  for  a  year." 

"  I  will  have  him  here  in  one  hour,  sir." 

"But  who  is  he?" 

"My  father,  sir." 

"O,  ho!" 

"Colonel  Wimpleton  discharged   him  before  day- 
light this  morning." 
.      14 


210  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

"  Then  I  am  to  take  a  man  whom  Wimpleton  has 
discharged,  and  pay  him  twenty  dollars  more  than 
he  was  having  before." 

"  He  discharged  my  father  in  order  to  punish  him," 
I  replied ;  and  then  I  told  him  the  sequel  to  the 
story  I  had  related  the  day  before. 

"  Very  good !  Excellent !  I  will  help  "Wimpleton 
punish  your  father  by  giving  him  eighty  dollars  a 
month,  which  is  twenty  dollars  more  than  any  en- 
gineer ought  to  have.     Go  for  him  at  once." 

I  never  pulled  across  the  lake  so  quickly  before 
as  I  did  then.  I  found  my  father  at  home;  he  had 
just  returned  from  his  visit  to  Bingham. 

"Back  so  soon,  Wolf?"  said  he;  and  he  looked 
quite  sad. 

"  Yes,  sir.     Did  you  see  Bingham  ?  " 

"I  did;  but  it's  too  late.  He  has  heard  of  the 
quarrel,  and  won't  buy  the  house  at  any  price.  It 
will  go  hard  with  me,  I'm  afraid." 

"Never  mind,  father.  It  will  come  out  right  in 
the  end,  I  know." 

"What  did  you  come  back  for?" 

"  Major  Toppleton  wants  you,  and  will  engage  you 


THE   YOUNG   EJ5TGINEEB.  211 

for  a  year,  at  eighty  dollars  a  month,"  I  replied, 
with  proper  enthusiasm. 

"Eighty  dollars!" 

I  explained  what  Colonel  Wimpleton  had  done, 
and  what  Major  Toppleton  wished  to  do. 

"He  wants  you  right  off,  this  minute,"  I  added. 

"I'm  all  ready." 

"  When  rich  men  quarrel,  poor  men  ought  to  profit 
by  it,  if  they  can  do  so  honestly,"  I  suggested. 

"The  colonel  will  be  the  maddest  man  this  side 
of  the  north  pole  when  he  hears  of  my  good  for- 
tune," said  my  father. 

"I  dare  say  he  will,  for  it  appears  that  he  has 
only  discharged  you  to  open  the  way  to  a  much 
better  position." 

"  Exactly  so ! "  exclaimed  my  father,  delighted  with 
the  situation.  "If  rich  men  will  be  fools,  we  cannot 
help  it,  as  you  say,  Wolf." 

My  father  took  the  bundle  of  old  clothes  he  had 
just  brought  from  the  mill,  and  we  went  down  to 
the  wharf,  where  we  embarked  in  the  skiff  for  the 
other  side  of  the  lake. 

"If   you    could    only    sell    the    place,   father,  we 


212  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

might  move  over  to  Middleport  at  once,"  said  I, 
pulling  with  all  my  might  at  the  oars. 

"I  don't  think  I  can  do  it.  By  this  time  every- 
body knows  that  the  colonel  has  quarrelled  with 
me,  and  no  one  will  run  the  risk  of  offending  him 
by  buying  it,"  replied  my  father.  "I  hope  Morti- 
mer will  catch  Christy,  and  get  back  part  of  my 
money,  if  not  the  whole  of  it." 

We  landed  in  Middleport,  and  hastened  to  the 
mansion  of  the  major.  He  was  ever  so  much  better 
humored  than  when  I  had  called  upon  him  before. 
He  had  evidently  considered  the  nature  of  the  vic- 
tory he  had  won  over  his  powerful  rival,  for  he  had 
certainly  cheated  the  colonel  out  of  his  revenge 
upon  my  father,  and  jjractically  nullified  his  punish- 
ment.    He  appeai*ed  to  be  duly  comforted. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Penniman,"  said  he, 
graciously,  as  my  father  bowed  low  to  him. 

"I  am  very  grateful  to  you  for  your  kind  offer, 
sir,  and  I  accept  it  thankfully,"  replied  my  father. 

"I  wish  to  see  the  smoke  rising  from  the  chimney 
of  the  mill  at  once,"  added  the  major,  briskly.  "I 
want  Wimpleton  to   understand   that   he   can't  shut 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEE.  213 

me  up.  Go  to  the  mill,  and  get  up  steam  as  fast  as 
you  can ;  and  the  more  smoke  you  make,  the  better, 
for  that  will  be  my  sign  of  triumph." 

"  I'll  fire  up  at  once,"  replied  my  father,  leaving 
the  room,  and  hastening  to  his  work. 

Young  and  inexperienced  as  I  was,  I  could  not 
help  feeling  sad  at  this  exhibition  of  malignity  on 
the  part  of  the  rich  man  of  Middleport.  The  colonel 
had  taken  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the*  dismissal 
of  my  father  to  strike  his  rival  in  a  tender  place. 
It  was  mean ;  but  such  was  the  character  of  the 
dealings  between  them,  when  they  had  any.  The 
major  rubbed  his  hands  with  delight,  and  paced  the 
library  under  the  exhilaration  of  the  moment.  It 
was  a  pity  that  these  men,  with  such  vast  means 
of  doing  good  within  their  grasp,  should  quarrel 
with  each  other,  and  debase  and  demoralize  a  whole 
neighborhood  by  their  actions. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Penniman,  I  suppose  you  are  ready  to 
go  to  work,"  said  the  major,  pausing  before  me  after 
a  time. 

Mr.  Penniman !  I  felt  an  inch  taller  to  have  a 
handle  applied  to  my  name  by  such  a  magnificent 
man. 


214  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

"Yes,  sir;  I  am  waiting  for  orders." 

"I  suppose  you  think  that  dummy  isn't  much  of 
an  engine,"  he  added,  with  a  very  pleasant  smile 
upon  his  face. 

"I  think  it  works  very  well,  sir." 

"  I  dare  say  you  do ;  but  I  want  to  say,  a  thing 
like  that  is  not  the  height  of  our  ambition,"  he  con- 
tinued, rubbing  his  hands  under  the  influence  of 
some  undeveloped  idea. 

"I'm  sure  I  shouldn't  wish  for  anything  better 
than  the  dummy." 

"  It  answers  very  well  to  begin  with  ;  but  I  have 
a  regular  locomotive  and  two  cars  in  process  of 
building,  and  I  shall  have  them  on  the  track  this 
fall." 

"  Is  it  a  big  locomotive  ? "  I  asked,  curiously. 

"  No,  it's  a  small  one ;  and  it  will  be  the  prettiest 
plaything  you  ever  saw.  I'm  determined  that  the 
Toppleton  Institute  shall  be  the  most  popular  one 
in  the  country." 

"  I  suppose  Colonel  Wimpleton  will  do  something 
to  offset  this  movement  on  your  part,"  I  suggested. 

"What  can  he  do?"  asked  the  major,  anxiously. 
"  Have  you  heard  of  anything  ?  " 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  215 

"No,  sir.  I  only  know  they  feel  very  bad  about 
the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  over  there." 

"They  will  feel  worse  before  we  get  through  with 
it,"  replied  the  magnate,  shaking  his  head.  "What 
can  they  do  ?  They  can't  build  a  railroad,  the  coun- 
try is  so  rough.  We  can  keep  ahead  of  them  now. 
But  I  want  that  dummy  in  motion.  You  must  run 
it  every  half  hour  for  the  rest  of  the  day  between 
Middleport  and  Spangleport.  Carry  everybody  who 
wishes  to  ride.  I  want  the  Centreport  people  to 
see  it,  and  to  know  that  we  are  alive  on  this  side." 

"Will  the  students  be  with  me?"  I  inquired. 

"  This  afternoon,  when  they  are  dismissed  from  the 
school-room,  they  will  be.  I  will  send  you  a  conduct- 
or. Let  me  see;  Higgins  is  too  sick  to  study,  and 
just  sick  enough  to  play.  He  shall  run  with  you. 
Now  keep  her  going,  as  though  you  meant  business." 

"I  will,  sir;  I  will  put  her  through  by  daylight," 
I  replied,  as  I  left  the  library. 


216  THROUGH  BY  DATLIGHT,  OR 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    BEAUTIFUL   PASSENGER. 

I  FOUND  the  dummy  just  as  I  had  left  it  on 
the  preceding  day.  I  kindled  a  fire  in  the 
furnace,  rubbed  down  the  machinery,  filled  up  the 
water  tank,  and  took  on  a  supply  of  coal,  which 
was  the  kind  of  fuel  intended  to  be  used  under  the 
boiler.  I  assure  my  sympathetic  reader  that  I  felt 
a  real  pleasure  in  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  and 
in  the  consciousness  that  I  was  actually  the  master 
of  the  machine.  Though  my  taste  was  rather  in- 
clined towards  the  engine  of  a  steamer,  I  was  more 
than  satisfied  with  my  present  position,  and  deemed 
myself  the  luckiest  dog  in  the  world. 

Higgins,  the  invalid  student,  who  was  to  officiate 
as  conductor,  stood  by  and  watched  all  my  move- 
ments with  the  most  intense  interest.  He  looked 
like  a  clever  fellow,  and  I  proceeded  to  make  friends 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  217 

with  him  in  due  form,  by  declaring  that  I  was  sorry 
he  was  sick. 

"I'm  not  sorry,"  said  he,  with  a  grin.  "I'm 
rather  glad  I'm  sick.     In  fact,  I'm  not  very  sick." 

"Well,  I  thought  you  were;  the  major  said  so; 
at  least  he  said  you  were  too  sick  to  study,  and 
just  sick  enough  to   play." 

"Did  he  say  that?" 

"He  did." 

"Well,  he  knows  a  thing  or  two,"  laughed  Hig- 
gins.  "  My  mother  thinks  it  makes  my  head  ache  to 
study ;  and  in  fact  it  does  when  the  lessons  are  hard." 

"I  dare  say.     Are  they  hard   to-day?"  I  asked. 

"  ISTot  so  very  hard ;  but,  to  tell  the  truth,  I 
thought  there  was  to  be  some  fun  going  on  here, 
and  I  wanted  to  be  on  hand.  My  mother  wrote 
to  the  principal  that  she  did  not  wish  me  to  study 
very  hard,  for  something  ailed  my  head." 

"  I'm  afraid  the  jar  of  the  dummy  will  hurt  your 
head,"  I  suggested. 

"  O,  no,  it  won't,"  protested  the  candid  Higgins. 
"  It  feels  better  now  than  it  did  this  morning ;  in 
fact,  it  always  feels  better  after  school  begins." 


218  THEOTJGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"But  I'm  really  afraid  it  will  injure  you  to  ride 
on  the  dummy,  with  all  the  excitement  of  the  highly 
responsible  position  of  conductor,"  I  added,  gravely. 
"  I  think  I  had  better  mention  the  matter  to  Major 
Toppleton  when  I  see  him." 

"  O,  no ;  don't  do  that,"  pleaded  Higgins,  plain- 
tively. "  Between  you  and  me  and  the  smoke-stack 
of  the  dummy,  I  am  as  well  as  you  are." 

"  Precisely  so ;  and  I  think  the  major  understands 
your  malady,  if  the  principal  does  not." 

"Don't  say  a  word  this  time,  and  I  won't  'soger' 
any  more." 

"  It's  none  of  my  business,  Higgins ;  but  you  are 
sawing  off  your  own  nose,  and  playing  the  trick 
upon  yourself.  I  would  be  a  man,  and  face  the 
music   like   one,   if  I  were   you." 

"I  will  face  the  music  if  you  won't  say  anything." 

"  All  ready,  Mr.  Conductor  ! "  I  shouted,  when 
I  had  steam    enough. 

"All  aboard ! "  yelled  Higgins,  rather  glad  to 
change  the  subject  when  he  found  that  I  did  not 
appreciate  his  deception. 

I   ran  the  dummy  out  of  the  house,  and  stopped 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  219 

her  near  the  head  of  the  steamboat  wharf.  The 
car  was  still  so  great  a  novelty  that  many  people 
gathered  around  to  examine  it.  The  cushions  were 
now  well  dried,  and  though  the  cloth  had  suffered 
somewhat  from  the  effects  of  the  bath,  it  looked 
very  nice  inside  of  her. 

"Have  you  a  watch,  Higgins?"  I  asked  of  the 
gentlemanly  conductor. 

"Yes,"  replied  he,  producing  a  small  gold   one. 

"We  will  leave  Middleport  on  the  hour,  and 
Spangleport  on  the  half  hour,"  I  added.  "I  wish  I 
had  a  watch." 

"Why  don't  you  have  one?" 

"  I'm  not  a  rich  man's  son,  and  I  can't  afford  to 
have  such  playthings.  But  I  suppose  I  must  get 
one,  if  I  run  on  this  dummy." 

"I'll  lend  you  mine  for  to-day,  Wolf." 

"Thank  you.  I  want  to  time  the  running,  so  as 
to  know  where  we  are,"  I  answered,  taking  the 
watch,  and  attaching  the  chain  to  my  vest.  "It  is 
nearly  twelve  o'clock,  and  we  will  start  soon." 

"  All  aboard  for  Spangleport ! "   screamed  Higgins, 


220  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

as  though  the  announcement  was  intended  for  the 
people  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake. 

"Folks  will  understand  that  nothing  ails  your 
lungs,  Higgins,  whatever  is  the  matter  with  your 
head,".  I  added,  gently,  to  the  zealous  conductor. 
"I  wouldn't  yell  so.  Boys  always  make  fools  of 
themselves  by  halloing  when  there  isn't  the  least 
need  of  it." 

Higgins,  in  a  milder  tone,  invited  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  were  inspecting  the  car  to  step  in 
and  make  the  excursion  to  Spangleport,  promising 
that  they  should  return  in  just  fifty  minutes.  Quite 
a  number  of  them  accepted  the  invitation;  and  I 
was  about  to  start,  when  I  saw  a  very  beautiful 
young  lady  hastening  towards  us.  She  was  elegant- 
ly dressed,  and  her  movements  were  as  graceful  as 
those  of  a  fawn.  The  "  gentlemanly  conductor " 
rang  the  bell  for  the  engine  to  start,  and  the  young 
lady,  hearing  it,  made  a  motion  with  her  sunshade 
for  us  to  wait  for  her.  I  was  too  happy  to  find 
she  was  to  be  a  passenger  in  the  car  to  start  with- 
out her,  in  spite  of  my  laudable  ambition  to  be  "  on 
time." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  221 

The  moment  Higgins  saw  her,  he  jumped  off  the 
platform,  took  off  his  cap,  bowed  and  scraped  like 
a  French  dancing-master,  and  helped  her  up  the 
steps.  There  was  a  glass  window  in  the  partition 
between  the  engine-room  and  the  passenger  com- 
partment, for  which  at  that  moment  I  felt  extreme- 
ly grateful  to  the  builder,  for  it  enabled  me  to 
obtain  an  occasional  glance  at  the  beautiful  young 
lady.  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  this  unwonted  enthu- 
siasm on  my  part  was  as  surprising  to  myself  as  it 
will  be  to  my  readers,  for  I  had  hardly  ever  looked 
at  any  person  of  the  feminine  persuasion  before, 
except  my  mother  and  sisters.  I  had  certainly 
never  seen  any  lady  who  attracted  me  so  strongly, 
or  for  whom  I  felt  so  great  an  admiration.  She 
was  not  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age ; 
but  she  wore  a  long  dress,  and  had  a  mature  bearing. 

Higgins  conducted  her  to  a  seat,  and  she  took 
possession  of  it  as  gracefully  as  though  she  had  been 
schooled  in  the  polite  art  for  a  whole  lifetime.  I 
could  not  help  gazing  at  her,  and  I  envied  Higgins 
the  rapture  of  being  permitted  to  speak  to  her.  She 
looked    around,    and    bowed    to    several    persons    in 


222  THEOTTGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

the  car,  with  the  sweetest  smile  that  ever  lighted 
up  a  young  lady's  face.  I  was  wholly  absorbed  in 
gazing  at  her,  and  actually  forgot  that  I  was  the 
young  engineer  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  till  the 
sharp  snap  of  the  bell  brought  me  to  my  senses, 
and  assured  me  that  Higgins  was  not  so  fascinated 
as  I  was. 

I  was  a  minute  behind  time,  and  I  let  on  the 
steam  to  make  it  up.  I  was  obliged  to  turn  my 
back  on  the  beautiful  being  in  the  car,  and  look  out 
for  "breakers  ahead"  through  the  door  and  windows 
in  the  end  of  the  engine-room ;  but  I  had  the  pleas- 
ing satisfaction  of  thinking  that  in  running  backwards 
from  Spangleport  I  should  face  the  other  way. 

What  a  fool  I  was !  Of  course  I  was.  A  young 
man  always  has  a  time  to  be  a  fool,  just  as  he  has 
to  take  the  measles,  though  he  seldom  has  it  so 
young  as  I  did.  I  did  not  know  who  the  young 
lady  was,  and  I  did  not  crave  any  other  privilege 
than  that  of  simply  looking  at  her,  just  as  I  should 
at  a  pretty  picture.  If  she  had  fallen  overboard,  I 
should  certainly  have  jumped  in  after  her.  If  she 
had  been    in  the  claws  of  a  lion,  I  should  certainly 


THE   YOUNG   ESTGINEEB.  223 

have  smitten  the  lion.  If  she  had  been  in  the  upper 
story  of  a  house  on  fire,  I  should  certainly  have  run 
the  risk  of  being  singed  for  her  sake.  But  she  did 
not  fall  overboard,  or  into  the  claws  of  a  lion,  and 
she  was  not  in  a  burning  house;  and,  provoking  as 
it  was,  I  could  not  do  anything  for  her,  except  turn 
my  back  to  her,  —  and  I  was  not  sure  that  this 
was  not  the  most  agreeable  service  I  could  render 
her,  —  and  run  the  dummy  at  its  highest  speed. 

I  could  not  help  seeing  the  beautiful  young  lady 
even  through  the  back  of  my  head ;  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  I  forgot  to  look  at  my  watch,  when  we 
passed  Ruggles's  barn  and  the  Grass  Brook  bridge, 
as  I  had  intended ;  and  at  a  quarter  past  twelve  the 
dummy  sizzled  into  Spangleport,  shivering  like  an 
over-driven  horse.  I  had  the  self-possession,  how- 
ever, to  stop  her  when  she  got  there;  but  I  have 
since  wondered  that,  under  the  circumstances,  I  did 
not  run  her  into  the  lake,  or  over  the  hill  to  Grass 
Springs.  I  had  made  the  distance  in  just  fourteen 
minutes. 

The  passengers  got  out  of  the  car,  and  for  a  time 
I   lost   sight  of   the    elegant   young    lady.     Higgins 


224  THROUGH   BT    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

came  round  to  me,  and  declared  that  we  had  made 
a  "  bully  trip."  I  was  entirely  of  his  opinion ;  but 
I  was  not  willing  to  confess  that  a  certain  absent- 
mindedness  had  induced  me  to  run  the  machine  so 
as  to  gain  five  minutes,  and  make  up  one.  The 
conductor  left  me,  and  I  fancied  that  he  had  gone 
to  find  the  interesting  person  who  had  fascinated 
me,  and  with  whom  he  seemed  to  be  acquainted. 

"  Will  you  allow  me  to  get  in  there  and  see  the 
machinery?"  said  a  silvery  voice,  while  I  was  rub- 
bing up  the  works. 

I  turned,  and  my  face  felt  as  though  all  the  steam 
in  the  boiler  had  been  discharged  upon  it  when  I 
discovered  that  the  sjDeaker  was  no  other  than  the 
bewitching  being  who  was  uppermost  in  my  thoughts. 

"  Certainly,"  I  replied,  leaping  to  the  ground,  and 
endeavoring  to  imitate  the  polite  gyrations  of  the 
gentlemanly  conductor. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Wolf,"  added  she,  with  the 
sweetest  of  smiles. 

Mr.  Wolf!  Involuntarily  my  head  went  up,  and 
I  felt  prouder  of  the  handle  to  my  name  than  when 
the  mighty  major  himself  had  applied  it. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  225 

"I'm  afraid  you  will  find  the  engine-room  a  very 
dirty  and  greasy  place,"  I  had  the  courage  to  sug- 
gest, flustered  as  I  was  by  having  the  beautiful  girl 
speak  to  me  —  actually  speak  to  me ! 

"  O,  never  mind !      I  have  on  my  old  clothes." 

If  these  were  her  old  clothes,  I  wondered  what 
her  best  were. 

"I  suppose  you  don't  know  me,  Mr.  Wolf;  but  I 
have  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  young  engineer, 
and  I  assure  you  I  am  delighted  to  see  you,"  she 
added,  with  a  kind  of  roguish  look,  which  made  me 
feel  just  as  though  I  was  "  going  up."  "  I  am 
Grace  Toppleton." 

The  daughter  of  the  major !  I  had  heard  what 
a  pretty,  gentle,  amiable  girl  she  was,  and  I  was  pos- 
itively sure  that  the  reports  did  not  belie  her. 

"  I  have  often  heard  of  you,  though  I  never  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  before,"  I  replied,  as  gal- 
lantly as  my  flustered  state  of  mind  would  permit. 

Still  imitating  the  gentlemanly  conductor,  I  took 
her  gloved  hand,  and  attempted  to  help  her  up  the 
high  step  of  the  engine-room.  I  felt,  at  this  partic- 
ular moment,  just  as  though  I  was  in  the  seventh 
15 


226  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

heaven.  As  the  elegant  young  lady  was  about  to 
step  up,  a  rude  grasp  was  laid  on  my  shoulder  ;  so 
rude  that  Miss  Grace  lost  her  foothold  on  the  step, 
and  was  thrown  back  upon  the  ground. 

Turning  round,  I  discovered  that  my  rough  assail- 
ant was  Captain  Synders,  the  constable  of  Centreport. 
He  was  attended  by  Colonel  Wimpleton  and  the 
skipper  of  the  canal  boat  which  had  been  blown  up. 
To  my  astonishment,  Miss  Grace  leaped  upon  the 
dummy  without  my  help,  and  I  was  held  back  by 
the  savage  grasp  of  the  officer.  My  blissful  dream 
had  suddenly  been  disturbed,  and  I  was  mad.  The 
envious  Centreporters  had  chosen  the  moment  of  my 
greatest  joy  to  pounce  upon  me. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  227 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SOME   TALK   WITH    COLONEL   WIMPLETON. 

I  WAS  very  intent  upon  explaining  to  Miss  Grace 
Toppleton  the  mysteries  of  the  dummy  engine, 
and  I  was  not  pleased  to  have  the  agreeable  inter- 
view broken  off.  I  was  vexed,  annoyed,  and  discon- 
certed. The  beautiful  young  lady  looked  at  me,  and 
I  thought  I  could  see  the  indications  of  sympathy 
upon  her  face. 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me  a  moment,  Miss  Topple- 
ton, I  will  show  you  the  engine,"  I  said  to  her,  with 
all  the  politeness  of  which  my  nature  was  capable. 

"  I  guess  not,"  added  Captain  Synders,  with  a 
coarse  grin,  as  though  he  had  evil  intentions  in 
regard  to  me. 

"  If  you  will  let  me,  Mr.  Wolf,  I  want  to  ride 
back  in  the  engine-room,  and  see  the  machinery 
work,"  replied  she,  in  her  silvery  tones. 


228  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

"I  guess  not,"  repeated  Captain  Synders;  and  I 
turned  my  attention  from  her  to  him. 

I  could  not  conceive  why  Colonel  Wimpleton  and 
his  odious  associate  had  chosen  to  come  down  upon 
me  at  Spangleport,  rather  than  Middleport,  unless  it 
was  because  their  appearance  would  make  less  excite- 
ment. The  boat  in  which  they  had  come  lay  at  the 
wharf,  and  they  must  have  started  long  before  the 
dummy  left  Middleport.  Possibly  they  expected  to 
interrupt  the  trips  of  the  engine,  and  have  it  left 
five  miles  from  its  headquarters  without  an  engineer. 

Colonel  Wimpleton  had  with  him  Captain  Syn- 
ders, the  constable.  It  had  not  yet  occurred  to  me 
that  I  should  actually  be  arrested,  and  held  to 
answer  for  the  destruction  of  the  honest  skipper's 
canal  boat,  though  the  appearance  of  the  officer  had 
suggested  the  idea  to  me.  They  could  not  arrest 
me  without  including  Waddie  in  the  warrant,  for  he 
had  confessed  his  agency  in  the  mischief.  I  did  not 
know  of  any  way  by  which  I  could  be  punished 
without  involving  the  scion  of  the  great  house  on 
the  other  side. 

" What   do    you  wish  with    me?"    I   asked,  in   a 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  229 

very  ill-natured  tone ;  for  I  beg  to  remind  the  reader 
that  I  am  human,  and  that  Miss  Toppleton  occupied 
the  engine-room  of  the  car. 

Captain  Synders  glanced  at  the  colonel,  as  though 
he  expected  him  to  do  the  talking,  and  that  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  looked  down  upon  me  with 
unutterable  severity.  The  honest  skipper  did  not 
appear  to  have  much  sympathy  with  his  companions, 
and  looked  very  pleasant  for  a  man  who  had  expe- 
rienced so  heavy  a  loss  as  that  of  his  canal  boat. 

"  Wolf ! "  said  the  colonel,  in  stern  and  lofty 
accents. 

"  Sir ! "  I  replied,  with  a  dignity  becoming  the 
engineer  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad. 

"  We  have  been  looking  for  you,"  he  added, 
glancing  at  the  constable,  as  if  to  direct  my  atten- 
tion to  him. 

"You  have  been  lucky  enough  to  find  me,  sir.  I 
wish  to  say,  sir,  that  the  car  starts  for  Middleport 
at  half  past  twelve,  and  therefore  I  have  only  ten 
minutes  to  spare,"  I  replied,  consulting  Higgins's 
gold  watch,  the  appearance  of  which,  I  think,  pro- 
duced a  sensation  in  the  minds  of  my  visitors. 


230  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

"  Humph  !     I  think  you  will  wait  my  pleasure." 

"  That  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the  length  of 
time  your  pleasure  demands  my  presence.  Will  you 
please  to  tell  me  what  you  want  of  me?" 

"  Where  is  your  father,  Wolf?" 

"At  Middleport,  sir." 

"  What  is  he  doing  there  ?  " 

"He  is  at  work,  sir." 

Colonel  Wimpleton  looked  as  though  he  wanted 
to  swear;  for  I  am  sorry  to  say  this  influential  man 
sometimes  indulged  in  the  wicked  habit  of  using 
profane  language.  It  did  not  seem  quite  proper  that 
the  menial,  whom  he  had  discharged  as  a  punishment, 
should  find  work  so  soon. 

"  What  is  he  doing  ?  "  demanded  the  magnate  of 
Centreport,  biting  his  lips  to  conceal  his  vexation. 

"  You  were  so  kind  as  to  make  an  opening  for 
him,  sir,  by  hiring  away  Major  Toppleton's  engineer, 
and  my  father  has  taken  his  place,  at  the  same  wages 
—  eighty  dollars  a  month  —  as  you  pay  your  new 
engineer." 

The  great  man  stamped  his  foot  with  rage,  and 
uttered  an  expression   with  which  I  cannot  soil  my 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  231 

paper.  As  wicked*  tyrannical,  overbearing  men  often 
do,  he  had  overreached  himself  in  his  anxiety  to 
strike  my  father.  If  it  was  unchristian  for  me  to 
rejoice  in  his  discomfiture,  I  could  not  help  it,  and 
I  did  so  most  heartily. 

"  I  have  been  to  see  him  about  your  conduct," 
continued  the  colonel,  when  his  wrath  would  let  him 
speak  again.  "  I  want  to  know  what  he  is  going 
to  do  about  paying  his  share  of  the  loss  of  the 
canal  boat,  which  you  and  Waddie  blew  up." 

"  I  can  speak  for  him,  sir,  if  that  is  all  you  want. 
He  is  not  going  to  pay  the  first  cent  of  it,"  I 
replied. 

"Here  is  the  captain  of  the  boat,  and  he  wants 
to  know  what  you  are  going  to  do  about  it,"  added 
the  colonel,  trying  to  enjoy  the  confusion  which  he 
thought  I  ought  to  feel   in  view  of  such  a  demand. 

"  Yes,  I  want  to  know  who  is  going  to  pay  for 
the  mischief,"  said  the  honest  skipper;  but  as  he 
already  knew,  he  did  not  put  much  heart  into  the 
words,  and  actually  chuckled   as  he  uttered  them. 

"  Captain,"  I  continued,  turning  to  the  master  of 
the   canal  boat,   "I   say  to   you,   as   I  have   said  to 


232  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

others,  that  I  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
blowing  up  your  boat,  and  I  did  not  know  any- 
thing about  it  till  the  explosion  took  place.  That 
is  all  I  have  to  say." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  it,"  replied  the 
skipper. 

"  I  do,"  interposed  the  colonel.  "  He  has  con- 
fessed that  he  had  hold  of  the  string  when  the 
boat  blew  up." 

I  took  the  trouble  to  explain  to  the  honest  skip- 
per that  Waddle  had  asked  me  to  pull  in  his  kite 
line;  that  I  had  picked  it  uj),  but,  fearing  some 
trick,  had  done  nothing  with  it;  and  that  Waddie 
had  pulled  the  string  himself. 

"  All  aboard  for  Middleport ! "  shouted  Higgins,  as 
moderately  this  time  as  a  gentlemanly  conductor 
should  speak. 

"My  time  is  nearly  up,  sir,"  I  added  to  the  colo- 
nel. "  If  you  have  any  further  business  with  me, 
please  to  state  it  as  quickly  as  possible." 

"You  must  go  over  to  Centreport  with  me,  and 
arrange  this  business,"  replied  the  magnate,  gruffly. 

"  No,  sir ;  I  cannot  do  that." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  233 

"Then  Captain  Synders  must  arrest  you." 

"  Very  well,  sir ;  let  him  do  so.  I  am  willing  to 
go  to  jail  and  stand  trial  on  the  blowing  up.  Have 
you  made  a  complaint  against  me?"  I  asked  of  the 
honest  skipper. 

He  was  too  candid  to  tell  a  lie,  and  he  made  me 
no  answer. 

"  Have  you  a  warrant  for  my  arrest  ?  "  I  demanded 
of  Captain  Synders. 

"  I  can  take  you  without  a  warrant,"  growled  the 
constable. 

"Do  so,  then.  If  you  wish  to  arrest  me,  I  will 
submit." 

My  friends  may  think  I  was  putting  a  very  bold 
face  upon  the  matter,  but  I  candidly  admit  that  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  have  the  charge  against 
me  investigated ;  though  I  was  very  certain  no  steps 
would  be  taken  in  that  direction.  It  is  possible 
Colonel  Wimpleton  believed  that  I  had  been  con- 
cerned with  his  hopeful  in  the  blowing  up  of  the 
canal  boat ;  yet  the  guilt  of  his  son  was  settled,  and 
if  convicted,  some  stupid  judge  might  sentence  us 
both  to  the  penitentiary,  for  the  case  would  have  to 


234  THEOTTGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

go  to  the  shire  town  of  the  county,  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  great  man's  influence,  for  trial. 

My  father  had  told  me  that,  at  the  interview  with 
the  colonel  in  the  night,  the  latter  had  threatened 
him  with  prosecution  for  abusing  his  son ;  but  when 
my  father  suggested  that  Waddie  had  broken  into 
his  house  in  the  night  time,  it  was  plain  enough  that 
the  young  gentleman  was  liable  to  a  term  in  the 
state  prison.  Waddie's  crimes  and  mistakes  con- 
tinually stood  in  the  way  of  his  taking  his  revenge. 
I  considered  myself  fully  protected  in  the  same 
manner. 

"  Captain  Synders,  if  you  are  going  to  arrest  me, 
please  to  do  it  at  once,"  I  added,  as  the  lady  pas- 
sengers began  to  get  into  the  car,  and  some  of  the 
gentlemen  came  up  to  the  spot  where  I  stood. 

"What's  the  row?"  asked  Higgins. 

"  These  gentlemen  from  the  other  side  talk  of 
taking  me  up  for  the  mischief  to  that  canal  boat. 
If  they  do  so,  Higgins,  I  want  you  to  go  to  my 
father,  and  tell  him  about  it.  If  I  mistake  not, 
Waddie  Wimpleton  will  be  arrested  before  night  for 
breaking  into  our  house." 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEEB.  235 

"  I'll  do  it !  "  exclaimed  the  enthusiastic  con- 
ductor. 

"  Arrest  Waddie  !  "  ejaculated  the  colonel,  gnash- 
ing his  teeth  with  rage. 

It  was  mortifying  to  the  great  man  to  find  that 
he  had  come  to  the  end  of  his  rope ;  that  even  his 
power  to  annoy  and  persecute  his  inferiors  had  a 
limit. 

"All  aboard!"  repeated  Higgins. 

"If  you  are  going  to  arrest  me,  Captain  Synders, 
now  is  your  time,"  I  added. 

The  people  who  had  gathered  around  us  began  to 
laugh  and  enjoy  the  scene,  and  being  mostly  Mid- 
dleporters,  they  had  no  particular  sympathy  for  the 
colonel. 

"  Wolf,  we  shall  meet  again,"  said  the  great  man, 
sullenly,  as  he  turned  upon  his  heel,  and,  followed 
by  his  companions,  walked  rapidly  down  to  the 
wharf,  where  his  boat  lay. 

Even  while  I  knew  his  power,  and  felt  that  he 
could  annoy  our  family,  and  perhaps  ruin  us,  I  was 
quite  ready  to  meet  him  again.  Waddie's  indiscre- 
tions   stood    between    me    and    his    wrath    for    the 


236  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OK 

present,  but  his  time  might  come.  I  leaped  into 
the  engine-room  of  the  dummy,  where  Miss  Topple- 
ton  had  stood  listening  to  our  conversation. 

"  Mr.  Wolf,  I  think  you  are  real  smart,"  said  she, 
with  a  sweet  smile  of  approbation. 

"I  thank  you,  Miss  Toppleton,  for  your  good 
opinion.  Colonel  Wimpleton  is  very  hard  upon  me 
just  now." 

"  I  heard  father  tell  about  it.  I  think  that  Colonel 
Wimpleton  is  a  real  wicked  man ;  and  I  only  won  - 
der  that  he  and  father  were  good  friends  for  so  many 
years." 

"  I  am  all  ready  to  start  now,"  I  added.  "  I  wish 
I  had  better  accommodations  for  you." 

"  O,  this  is  very  nice ! "  exclaimed  she. 

I  opened  the  valve,  and  let  on  the  steam. 

"  What  did  you  do  then  ? "  she  asked,  pointing  to 
the  handle  of  the  valve. 

"  I  let  on  the  steam ; "  and  then  I  gave  her  a  full 
description  of  the  engine,  which  was  hardly  finished 
when  we   came  in  sight  of  Middleport. 

I  found  it  a  delightful  task  to  expatiate  on  my 
favorite   theme    to   such    a   beautiful    and    interested 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  237 

listener,  and  I  pointed  out  the  cylinder  wherein  the 
piston  worked,  the  connecting  rod  which  moved  the 
crank,  and  showed  her  how  the  valves  which  ad-, 
mitted  the  steam  to  the  cylinder  were  worked.  I 
flattered  myself,  after  the  lesson  I  had  given  her? 
that  she  was  almost  competent  to  run  the  dummy 
herself. 

"I  think  it  is  real  nice  to  ride  in  here,  and  see 
the  machinery  move,"  said  she. 

"  So  do  I;  and  I  enjoy  it  very  much ;  more  just 
now,  I  fear,  than  I  ever  shall  again." 

"  Why  so  ?  "  she  asked,  innocently. 

I  was  not  quite  bold  enough  to  explain  the  prin^ 
cipal  reason,  and  so  I  replied  that  it  was  a  new 
thing  to  me. 

"I  hope  you  will  let  me  ride  with  you  again, 
some  time,"  she  added. 

"  With  the  greatest  pleasure,"  I  replied.  "  When- 
ever you  please." 

We  ran  into  Midclleport,  and  Miss  Toppleton 
thanked  me  very  prettily  for  my  kindness  in  showing 
her  about  the  engine ;  and  I  really  wished  I  had  it 
to  do  over  again.     By  this  time  the  students  were 


238  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

turned  out  of  school,  and  all  of  them  gathered  around 
the  dummy,  anxious  to  begin  the  afternoon's  fun.  I 
had  brought  over  my  dinner,  and  I  ate  it  before 
the  next  trip.  At  one  o'clock  I  was  ready  to  start 
for  Spangleport  again. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  239 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    CONSTRUCTION    TRAIN. 

I  HAVE  been  so  busy  with  the  history  of  our 
family  affairs,  and  the  incidents  which  sent  me 
over  to  Middleport,  that  I  have  not  had  much  to 
say  about  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad ;  but  before  I 
have  done  with  the  subject,  I  shall  fully  describe 
the  road,  and  explain  the  operations  of  the  company. 
Only  a  small  portion  of  the  line  had  yet  been  built, 
and  the  dummy  was  but  a  temporary  substitute  for 
more  complete  rolling  stock.  Major  Toppleton  in- 
tended to  have  a  charter  for  the  road,  to  be  obtained 
at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  and  to  con- 
tinue it  to  TTcayga.  Although  it  was  at  the  present 
time  a  mere  plaything  for  ,the  students,  it  was  de- 
signed to  be  a  useful  institution,  and  to  build  up 
Middleport  immensely  in  the  end. 

Just  as  I  was  about  to  start  on  the  one  o'clock 


240  THROUGH  BT  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

trip,  Major  Toppleton  presented  himself.  The  car 
was  filled  with  students,  though  a  number  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  had  come  down  to  the  station  to 
have  a  ride  in  the  dummy.  The  major  immedi- 
ately ordered  the  boys  to  evacuate  the  premises, 
which  they  did  with  some  grumblings,  amounting 
almost  to  rebellion.  The  persons  waiting  were  in- 
vited to  get  in,  and  I  started  for  Spangleport  with 
a  less  noisy  crowd  than  I  had  anticipated.  As  we 
went  off,  I  heard  the  major  call  the  students  togeth- 
er, and  I  concluded  that  he  had  some  definite  plan 
to  carry  out. 

On  my  return,  I  found  the  boys  had  loaded  up 
the  two  platform  cars  with  rails  and  sleepers,  and 
they  were  attached  to  the  dummy  as  soon  as  she 
arrived.  Several  mechanics  were  standing  by,  and 
it  was  evident  that  a  piece  of  work  was  to  be  done 
that  day,  instead  of  play. 

"Now,  Wolf,  we  will  run  a  construction  train  on 
this  trip,"  said  Major  Toppleton,  as  he  took  his  place 
at  my  side  on  the  dummy,  and  directed  the  students 
and  the  mechanics  to  load  themselves  into  the  pas- 
senger apartment  and  on  the  cars. 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  241 

"  I  think  we  need  a  little  more  construction  at 
Spangleport,  sir,"  I  suggested. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter?" 

"I  don't  like  to  run  backwards,  sir,  on  the  down 
trips." 

"But  a  turn-table  will  cost  too  much  for  the  short 
time  we  shall  make  Spangleport  a  terminus.  We 
will  build  one  at  Grass  Springs,  for  that  will  be  as 
far  as  we  shall  run  the  road  this  season." 

"We  need  not  build  a  turn-table,  sir,"  I  added. 
"  We  can  turn  the  dummy  on  switches." 

"  How  is  that  ? "  inquired  the  major. 

"It  will  take  three  switches  to  turn  her.  First 
run  a  track  round  a  curve  to  the  right,  until  it 
comes  to  "a  right  angle  with  the  main  line.  Then 
run  another  track  on  the  reverse  curve  till  it  strikes 
the  main  line  again,  a  few  rods  from  the  point  where 
the  first  track  leaves  it." 

"I  don't  understand  it." 

"I  will  explain  it  when  we  stop,  sir.  It  will  not 
take  long  to  lay  it  down,  and  when  it  is  no  longer 
wanted  it  can  be  taken  up,  and  put  down  in  another 
place." 

16 


242 


THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 


At  Spangleport,  where  we  stopped,  I  made  a  dia- 
gram on  a  piece  of  paper,  to  illustrate  my  plan ;  and 
here   is  a  copy  of  my  drawing.     The   perpendicular 


lines  are  the  main  track.  The  dummy  was  to  be 
switched  off  at  the  lowest  part  of  the  diagram,  and 
run  on  the  curve  till  it  had  passed  a  switch  on  the 
right.  Then  it  was  to  be  switched  on  the  upper 
curve,  and  run  back  till  it  passed  the  switch  on  the 
main  line,  which  being  shifted,  the  car  having  been 
turned  entirely  round,  it  runs  back  on  the  perpen- 
dicular lines  between  the  curves. 

Major  Toppleton  was  satisfied  with  the  scheme, 
directed  that  the  switches  should  be  brought  up, 
and  the  work  was  commenced  at  once  by  the  me- 
chanics. All  the  boys  but  two  were  employed  in 
laying  down  more  track ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  say 
they  grumbled  fiercely,  for  they  wanted  to  have 
some   fun   with   the   dummy.      Higgins   was   still   to 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  243 

serve  as  conductor,  and  the  other  student  who  had 
been  excepted  from  hard  labor  was  one  of  the  regu- 
larly appointed  engineers  of  the  road.  His  name 
was  Faxon.  He  had  some  taste  for  mechanics,  and 
had  distinguished  himself  in  school  by  making  a 
fine  diagram  of  the  steam  engine  on  the  black- 
board. He  was  to  run  with  me  on  the  dummy, 
and  learn  to  manage  the  engine.  I  was  directed 
to  post  him  up,  as  well  as  I  could,  and  to  permit 
him  to  take  an  active  part  in  running  the  machine. 

I  was  not  particularly  pleased  with  the  idea  of 
an  apprentice  in  the  engine-room  with  me,  for  if 
the  fellow  had  any  "gumption"  he  would  soon  be 
able  to  take  my  place,  and  I  might  be  discharged 
whenever  it  was  convenient.  But  a  second  thought 
assured  me  that  my  fears  were  mean  and  unworthy ; 
that  I  could  never  succeed  in  making  myself  useful 
by  keeping  others  in  ignorance.  The  students  were 
sent  to  the  Institute  to  learn,  and  the  railroad  was 
a  part  of  their  means  of  instruction.  I  had  no  right 
to  be  selfish. 

We  ran  down  to  the  wharf  in  Spangleport,  for 
the  road  was  built  half  a  mile  beyond  the  village, 


244  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

when  Higgins  shouted,  "All  aboard  for  Middle- 
port!"  We  had  quite  a  crowd  of  Spangleporters 
as  passengers,  and  we  ran  our  trips  regularly  till 
five  o'clock,  to  the  great  gratification  of  the  people 
of  both  places,  when  the  gentlemanly  conductor  de- 
clined to  receive  any  more  who  expected  to  return, 
as  the  half  past  five  car  up  would  be  a  construction 
train.  Mr.  Higgins  talked  very  glibly  and  profes- 
sionally by  this  time,  and  imitated  all  the  gentle- 
manly conductors  he  had  ever  seen. 

Faxon  was  a  very  good  fellow,  though  he  cher- 
ished a  bitter  antipathy  against  the  Wimpletonians, 
and  everything  connected  with  them.  He  was  an 
ardent  admirer  of  Major  Toppleton,  and  particular- 
ly of  Major  Toppleton's  eldest  daughter,  for  which 
I  did  not  like  him  any  the  less,  strange  as  it  may 
appear  after  the  developments  of  the  last  chapter. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,  Wolf,"  said  he,  as  we 
were  running  up  the  last  trip,  "this  thing  won't  go 
down  with  the  fellows." 

«  What  ?  " 

"  All  the  fellows  are  mad  because  they  had  to 
work  this  afternoon." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  245 

"I  thought  they  considered  it  fun  to  build  the 
road." 

"  They  did  before  the  dummy  came ;  but  now 
they  want  the  fun  of  the  thing.  They  are  all  rich 
men's  sons,  and  they  won't  stand  it  to  work  like 
Irish  laborers.     I  hope  there  won't  be  any  row." 

"Of  course  Major  Toppleton  knows  what  he  is 
about." 

"  The  students  don't  growl  before  him.  They  do 
it  to  the  teachers,  who  dare  not  say  their  souls  are 
their  own." 

"  But  the  major  told  me  the  boys  enjoyed  the 
fun,  and  insisted  upon  building  the  road  themselves 
when  he  wanted  to  employ  laborers  for  the  pur- 
pose." 

"That's  j)layed  out.  I  heard  some  of  the  fellows 
say  they  would  not  work  another  day." 

"  Some  one  ought  to  tell  the  major  about  this. 
He  don't  want  them  to  work  if  they  don't  like  it," 
I  suggested. 

"  It  was  fine  fun  when  we  first  began  to  dig,  and 
lay  rails,  but  we  have  all  got  about  enough  of  it." 

"I  will  speak  to  the  major  about  it*" 


246  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"Don't  say  anything  to-day,"  interposed  Faxon. 
"  The  students  are  vexed  because  they  were  not 
allowed  to  have  a  good  time  this  afternoon ;  but 
the  major  is  going  to  have  a  great  picnic  at  Sandy 
Shore  next  week,  and  he  is  in  a  hurry  to  have  the 
road  built  to*  that  point  —  two  miles  beyond  Span- 
gleport." 

"There  is  only  one  mile  more  to  build,  and  if  the 
fellows  stick  to  it  they  will  get  it  done." 

"But  they  say  they  won't  work  another  day,"  re- 
plied Faxon. 

Middleport  was  not  paradise  any  more  than  Cen- 
treport.  Boys  were  just  as  foolish,  and  just  as.  will- 
ing to  get  into  a  scrape,  on  one  side  as  the  other. 
The  Toppletonians  had  insisted  upon  doing  the  work 
of  building  the  road,  and  then  purposed  to  rebel  be- 
cause they  were  required  to  do  it.  I  had  heard  of 
the  grand  picnic  which  was  to  take  place  on  the 
occasion  of  the  birthday  of  Miss  Grace  Toppleton. 
The  grove  by  the  Sandy  Shore  could  be  reached 
most  conveniently  by  the  railroad,  and  the  major's 
anxiety  to  have  the  rails  laid  to  that  point  had  in- 
duced him  to  drive  the  work,  instead  of  giving  the 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  247 

students  a  chance  to  have  a  good  time  with  the 
dummy,  as  they  had  desired  to  do  while  it  was  a 
new  thing. 

We  ran  into  the  engine-house,  and  some  of  the 
boys  forced  their  way  into  my  quarters,  in  spite  of 
my  protest.  I  saw  a  couple  of  them  studying  the 
machinery  with  deep  interest.  They  asked  me  some 
questions;  and  supposing  they  were  only  gratifying 
a  reasonable  curiosity,  I  gave  them  all  the  informa- 
tion they  needed,  telling  them  just  how  to  manage 
the  engine. 

"Pooh!  I  can  do  that  as  well  as  anybody,"  said 
Briscoe,  as  he  jumped  down. 

"  Of  course  you  can,"  replied  one  of  his  compan- 
ions. 

"Don't  you  think  I  could  run  her,  Wolf?"  asked 
Briscoe.  "I  am  one  of  the  engineers  of  the  road, 
and  I  ought  to  know  how." 

"  Probably  you  could  after  you  had  had  some 
experience." 

They  went  away,  and  I  wondered  what  they 
were  thinking  about.  It  did  not  much  matter, 
however,  for  I  was   satisfied   that   the   major  would 


248  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

not  permit  them  to  run  the  engine  till  they  had 
become  thoroughly  competent  to  do  so.  I  put  out 
the  fires  in  the  dummy,  cleaned  the  machinery,  and 
left  her  in  readiness  for  use  the  next  morning.  I 
then  went  to  the  mills ;  and,  as  my  father  had 
finished  his  day's  work,  we  walked  down  to  the 
wharf  where  my  skiff  lay.  On  the  way  I  told  him 
about  my  interview  with  Colonel  Wimpleton,  and 
we  both  enjoyed  the  great  man's  confusion  when 
he  learned  in  what  manner  he  had  punished  my 
father. 

"  He  will  not  arrest  you,  Wolf;  you  may  depend 
upon  that,"  said  my  father.  "As  the  case  now 
stands,  we  have  the  weather-gage  of  him,  except 
in  the  matter  of  the  mortgage.  I  am  afraid  I  shall 
lose  all  I  have  in  the  house.  Mortimer  has  got 
back,  but  he  hasn't  seen  or  heard  of  Christy." 

"  He  may  turn  up  yet." 

"He  may,  but  I  don't  depend  much  upon  it.  I 
have  tried  a  little  here  in  MiddlejDort  to  raise  the 
money  to  pay  off  the  mortgage ;  but  people  here 
will  not  lend  anything  on  real  estate  on  the  other 
side  of  the  lake." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  249 

"Perhaps  Major  Toppleton  will  help  you  out,"  I 
suggested. 

"  I  don't  like  to  say  anything  to  him  about  it. 
He  has  done  well  by  me,  and  I  won't  ride  a  free 
horse  to  death  ;  besides,  I  don't  want  to  be  in  the 
power  of  either  one  of  these  rich  men.  I  have  had 
trouble  enough  on  the  other  side." 

I  pulled  across  the  lake,  and  we  went  into  the 
house.  My  mother  looked  anxiously  at  my  father 
as  he  entered,  and  then  at  me.  I  smiled,  and  she 
understood  me.  Father  had  not  drank  a  drop,  and 
she  was  happy.  We  never  relished  our  supper  any 
better  than  we  did  that  night,  and  I  went  to  bed 
early,  not  a  little  surprised  that  we  heard  noth- 
ing, during  the  evening,  of  Colonel  Wimpleton  and 
his  son. 

The  dummy  was  to  make  her  first  trip  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  I  left  the  house  at  half  past  six,  with 
my  father,  to  cross  the  lake.  When  we  reached 
the  wharf,  I  was  utterly  confounded  to  see  the 
.dummy  streaking  it  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an 
hour  along  the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake.  Some- 
thing was  wrong,  for    there    was    no    one    on    the 


250  THKOTTGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OE 

other  side  who  knew  how  to  run  the  machine, 
unless  it  was  Faxon,  and  I  was  afraid  the  discon- 
tented Toppletonians  were  in  mischief.  We  em- 
barked in  the  skiff,  and  I  pulled  over  as  quickly 
as  I  had  done  the  day  before. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  251l 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


OFF   THE    TEACK. 


THE  appearance  of  the  dummy,  going  at  full 
speed,  filled  me  with  anxiety.  I  was  sure  that 
something  was  wrong,  for  I  knew  that  Major  Top- 
pleton  was  not  stirring  at  that  hour  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  that  he  could  not  have  given  any  one  per- 
mission to  take  out  the  car  without  telling  me  of  it. 
I  hastened  up  to  the  engine-house ;  but  it  was 
empty,  and  added  nothing  to  my  meagre  stock  of 
ideas  on  the  vexed  subject.  The  dummy  was  gone, 
and  that  was  all  I  knew  about  it. 

The  Institute  buildings  were  only  a  short  distance 
from  the  engine-house,  and  I  next  went  there  in 
search  of  information.  The  students  were  engaged, 
in  large  numbers,  in  their  sports.  Indeed,  there 
were  so  many  of  them  present  that  the  suspicion 
I  had  entertained  that   some  of  the  boys  had  gone 


252  THROUGH   ET   DAYLIGHT.   OB 

on  a  lark  in  the  dummy  seemed  to  be  disarmed. 
Still,  a  dozen  or  twenty  of  them  would  not  be 
missed  in  the  crowd,  and  it  was  j)ossible  that  this 
number  were  in  mischief,  though  I  thought,  if  it 
were  so,  they  had  chosen  a  singular  time  of  day 
for  it. 

The  students  were  rung  up  in  the  morning  at  six 
o'clock  ;  but,  by  a  merciful  provision  of  the  govern- 
ors of  the  Institute,  the  first  hour  was  devoted  to 
play,  so  that  those  who  were  behind  time  cheated 
themselves  out  of  just  so  much  sport.  I  was  in- 
formed that  only  a  few  neglected  to  get  up  when 
the  bell  rang;  and  I  commend  this  humane  and 
cunning  arrangement  to  other  institutions  troubled 
by  the  matutinal  tardiness  of  students.  The  morn- 
ing is  favorable  to  bold  schemes  and  active  move- 
ments; and  the  more  I  thought  of  the  matter,  the 
more  anxious  I  became  to  know  whose  places 
would  be  vacant  at  the  breakfast  table,  at  seven 
o'clock,  when  the  bell  rang  for  the  morning  meal. 

I  inquired  for  Faxon,  and  soon  found  him  mak- 
ing a  "  home  run "  in  a  game  of  base  ball.  Before 
I   had  time  to  address  him   the  breakfast  bell  rang; 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  253 

and,  with  a  most  surprising  unanimity,  all  games 
were  instantly  suspended  —  a  fact  which  ought  to 
convince  humanitarian  educators  that  breakfast,  din- 
ner, and  supper  should  immediately  follow  play,  if 
boys  are  to  be  taught  habits  of  promptness.  The 
students  rushed  towards  "  Grub  Hall,"  as  the  dining- 
room  was  called;  but,  though  Faxon  had  a  good 
appetite,  I  succeeded,  with  some  difficulty,  in  inter- 
cepting his  headlong  flight. 

"What's  the  row,  Wolf?"  demanded  he,  glancing 
at  the  open  door  through  which  the  boys  were  filing 
to  the  breakfast  table,  and  possibly  fearing  that  the 
delay  would  involve  an  inferior  piece  of  beefsteak. 

"  Are  any  of  the  fellows  missing  ? "  I  asked. 

"Not  that  I  know  of;  but  we  can  tell  at  the 
table,"  replied  he.     "  What's  up  ?  " 

"The  dummy  is  gone,"   I  answered,  mysteriously. 

"  Gone !     Gone  where  ?  " 

"I  don't  know.  I  saw  her  streaking  it  down  the 
road   as  if  she  had  been  shot  off"." 

"Don't  say  a  word  about  it;  but  hold  on  here 
till  I  get  my  grub,  and  see  who  is  missing,"  said 
he,  rushing  into  the  building. 


254  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

I  did  not  understand  what  Faxon  purposed  to  do ; 
but  I  was  willing  to  comply  with  the  arrangement, 
in  compassion  for  his  stomach,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son. I  had  feared  that  my  associate  on  the  engine 
was  concerned  in  the  conspiracy  to  abstract  the 
dummy,  for  I  did  not  think  any  one  else  would  be 
able  to  manage  it.  I  was  glad  to  find  he  had  not 
engaged  in  the  lark,  and  I  wondered  all  the  more 
who  had  the  audacity  to  play  with  the  machine.  I 
walked  over  to  a  point  on  the  Institute  grounds 
which  commanded  a  view  of  the  Lake  Shore  for 
some  distance ;  but  I  could  see  nothing  of  the 
dummy.  Presently,  Faxon,  who  had  satisfied  the 
cravings  of  his  hunger  in  a  remarkably  short  time, 
came  out  of  the  building. 

"Briscoe  and  half  a  dozen  other  fellows  are  miss- 
ing," said  he. 

"  Briscoe ! "  I  exclaimed ;  for  he  was  the  fellow 
who  had  invaded  my  quarters  the  night  before,  and 
declared  he  could  handle  the  engine. 

"He's  a  first-rate  fellow,  in  the  main,  and  I  hope 
he  isn't  getting  into  any  scrape,"  added  Faxon,  anx- 
iously. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEK.  255 

'I'm  afraid  he  is.  He  Is  the  fellow  who  has  run 
away  with  the  dummy." 

"Don't  say  a  word.  I  have  permission  to  be  out 
an  hour,  and  we  will  see  where  they  are.  What 
can  we  do?" 

"We  can  take  one  of  the  platform  cars,  and  go 
after  them." 

"Come  along;  but  don't  say  anything." 

We  went  to  the  engine-house,  and  lifted  one  of 
the  platform  cars  on  the  track.  The  Lake  Shore 
Railroad,  as  I  had  found  by  running  the  dummy, 
had  a  slight  descent  from  Midclleport  to  Spangleport. 
We  pushed  the  car,  running  behind  it,  till  we  had 
worked  it  up  to  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and  then  leaped 
upon  the  platform.  The  impetus  thus  given  to  it 
kept  it  going  for  a  mile,  when  the  motive  power 
was  applied  again,  as  before.  In  this  manner  we 
ran  three  miles,  without  making  very  hard  work  of 
it,  and  came  in  sight  of  the  dummy. 

"There  she  is!"  exclaimed  Faxon.  "The  fellows 
did  not  go  a  great  way  in  her." 

"  No ;  but  they  went  as  far  as  they  could,"  I 
replied,  as  soon  as  I  had  examined  the  situation  of 


256  THROUGH   BT   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

the  car,  which  was  not  in  motion  when  we  discov- 
ered it. 

"How  do  you  know?" 

"  She's  off  the  track." 

"That's  too  bad!" 

For  my  own  part  I  was  rather  glad  the  enterprise 
of  the  runaways  had  been  nipped  in  the  bud,  for  I 
had  a  professional  contempt  for  those  who  attempt 
to  run  an  engine  when  they  know  nothing  about 
one.  I  only  hoped  the  dummy  and  the  boys  were 
not  injured.  As  we  approached  nearer  to  the  scene 
of  the  disaster,  we  saw  the  conspirators  hard  at 
work  trying  to  get  the  dummy  on  the  track. 

"  What  are  you  about,  you  spoonies ! "  shouted 
Faxon,  as  we  stopped  the  car  close  to  the  unfortu- 
nate dummy. 

"We  are  trying  to  get  the  thing  on  the  track," 
replied  Briscoe,  as  coolly  as  though  he  had  done 
nothing  wrong. 

"  How  came  she  out  here  ? "  demanded   Faxon. 

"  O,  well,  we  were  having  a   little  fun  with  her." 

"You  were  missed  at  breakfast,  and  you  will 
catch  fits  for  this." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEEB.  257 

"I  suppose  we  shall;  but  we  can't  help  it  now." 

"  What  did  you  meddle  with  her  for,  you  spoon- 
ies,  when  you  didn't  know  anything  about  her?" 
continued  Faxon,  indignantly. 

"I  know  all  about  her,  as  well  as  you  do,  Faxon. 
You  needn't  put  on  airs  because  you  helped  run 
the  thing,"  retorted  Briscoe. 

"I  should  think  you  did  know  all  about  her;  and 
that's  the  reason  why  you  ran  her  off  the  track.  You 
don't  know  so  much  as  you  think  you  do." 

"  That  may  be,  but  I  know  more  than  you  think 
I  do." 

"What  did  you  run  her  off  for?" 

"I  suppose  it  is  considered  rather  necessary  to 
have  rails  for  this  thing  to  run  on,"  replied  Briscoe. 
"  If  you  will  look  ahead  of  her,  you  will  see  that 
the  track  is  torn  up  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  the 
rails  carried  off." 

"Is  that  so?"  added  Faxon,  walking  out  ahead 
of  the  dummy. 

"That's    so,   as  you    may   see  for  yourself,"    said 
Briscoe,  following  us  along  the  track. 
17 


258  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

"Who  did  it?  That's  the  next  question,"  asked 
Faxon,  vexed,  as  we  all  were,  at  the  discovery. 

"  I  don't  know ;  we  didn't,"  answered  Briscoe. 
"If  the  track  hadn't  been  pulled  up,  we  should  have 
returned  at  breakfast  time.     What's  to  be  done  ? " 

"You  must  get  back  as  quick  as  you  can,"  re- 
plied the  benevolent  Faxon.  "I  won't  blow  on  you. 
Take  that  car,  and  make  time  for  the  Institute." 

"You're  a  good  fellow,  Faxon,"  added  Briscoe, 
with  a  smile. 

"  If  I  am,  don't  you  play  this  game  again." 

"  I  won't,  again." 

"  How  did  it  work  ?  "  I  inquired,  wishing  to  hear 
the  experience  of  the  runaways. 

"First  rate.  I  had  no  trouble  with  it.  She 
started  when  I  pulled  the  thing,  and  we  made  time 
on  her  coming  down,  you   had  better  believe." 

"  I  should  think  you  did.  I  saw  you  putting  her 
through  by  daylight." 

"Edwards  saw  the  track  was  gone,  and  told  me 
of  it.  I  shut  off  steam,  and  put  on  the  brakes ; 
but  I  couldn't  fetch  up  soon  enough  to  keep  from 
running   off." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  259 

"  All  I  have  to  say  is,  that  you  are  lucky  to  come 
out  of  it  with  a  whole  skin,"  I  added,  solemnly. 
"But  hurry  back  as  fast  as  you  can,  or  you  will 
be  in  hot  water." 

"I'm  in  hot  water  now,  and  I  may  as  well  be 
scalded  with  a  quart  as  a  pint.  I  am  willing  to 
stay  and  help  you  put  her  on  the   track." 

"Don't  do  it,  Briscoe,"  interposed  Faxon.  "You 
are  one  of  the  directors,  and  if  the  major  finds  out 
you  meddled  with  the  dummy,  he  will  have  you 
turned  out  of  office.  Rush  back  to  the  Institute, 
and  don't  let  on." 

The  runaways  were  willing  to  adopt  this  advice. 
There  were  half  a  dozen  of  them,  and  as  they  could 
make  easy  work  of  pushing  the  car  back,  they  soon 
disappeared  behind  the  trees. 

"You  won't  let  on  —  will  you,  Wolf?"  said  Fax- 
on, in  a  coaxing  tone,  as  soon  as  we  were  alone. 

"I  won't  volunteer  to  tell  any  stories  out  of 
school ;  but  I  shall  not  tell  any  lies  about  it." 

"  Don't  be  squeamish.  Briscoe  is  a  good  fellow, 
and  one  of  the  directors.  The  major  would  break 
him  if  he  heard  of  this  thing." 


260  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"Between  you  and  me,  I  think  he  ought  to  be 
broken.  Suppose  they  had  burst  the  boiler,  and 
been  wiped  out  themselves  ? " 

"  That's  all  very  pretty ;  but  they  didn't  burst 
the  boiler,  and  were  not  wiped  out." 

"  I'm  at  work  for  Major  Toppleton.  If  he  asks  me 
any  questions,  I  shall  tell  him  the  truth." 

"  O,  come  now  ! " 

"But  I  don't  think  he  is  likely  to  ask  me  any 
questions.  There  will  be  a  breeze  when  he  finds 
out  the  track  has  been  torn  up,  and  there  will  be 
fog  enough  with  it  to  cover  up  those  fellows." 

"Be  a  good  fellow,  Wolf,  and   don't  say  a  word." 

"I  will  not  if  I  can  help  it.  I  don't  think  any- 
body will  know  anything  about  this  scrape.  Those 
who  saw  the  dummy  come  out  will  suppose  I  was 
on  her.  But  here's  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish ! "  I 
added,  glancing  at  the  dummy,  and  then  at  the 
road  minus  the  rails. 

"  Can  we  put  the  thing  on  the  track  again  ? " 

"I  think  we  can  —  we  can  try  it,  at  least.  We 
want  some  of  those  rails  for  levers." 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  261 

"  Where  ate  they  ? "  asked  the  puzzled  Faxon. 
"Did   some   one  steal  them  for   old   iron?" 

"No;  they  are  not  far  off,"  I  replied,  leading  the 
way  down  to  the  Lake  Shore. 

We  walked  along  the  beach,  till  I  discovered 
footsteps  in  the  sand. 

"  Here  is  where  they  landed,"  I  added,  pointing 
to  the  -prints,  and  also  to  some  deep  lines  gored  in 
the  sand  by  a  couple  of  boats,  which  had  been 
hauled  up  on  the  beach. 

"Who  landed?     I  don't  understand  it." 

"I  do;  an  enemy  has  done  this.  The  Wimple- 
tonians  have  been  over  here  during  the  night,  and 
torn  up  your  track." 

"If  they  did,  it  will  be  a  sorry  day  for  them," 
said  Faxon,  grating  his  teeth  and  shaking  his  head. 

"  These  footprints  were  made  by  dandy  boots,  and 
all  the  party  were  boys.  It's  as  plain  as  the  nose 
on  Colonel  Wimpleton's  face ; "  and  the  great  man 
of  Centreport  was  troubled  with   a  long  proboscis. 

"They'll  catch   it  for  this." 

We  walked  along  till  we  came  to  Grass  Brook, 
and  there  we  fpund  the  rails  thrown  into  the  deep 


262  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

water  at  the  mouth  of  it.  The  end  of  one  of  them 
lay  within  my  reach,  and  I  pulled  it  out.  Using 
this  as  a  lever,  we  pried  up  the  wheels  of  the  dum- 
my, and  after  an  hour  of  severe  exertion,  we  suc- 
ceeded in  putting  the  car  upon  the  track. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  263 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE    GRAND   PICNIC. 


IT  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  quote  any  of  the 
big  words  which  Major  Toppleton  used  when  I 
told  him  the  Wimpletonians  had  been  over  and 
torn  up  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  track  of  the 
Lake  Shore  Railroad.  I  did  not  deem  it  best,  as 
he  asked  no  questions,  to  augment  his  wrath  by 
telling  him  the  dummy  had  been  off  the  track.  He 
was  more  impatient,  if  possible,  to  have  the  road 
completed  than  the  boys  were.  He  procured  the 
services  of  a  score  of  mechanics  and  laborers,  and 
we  hastened  with  them  to  the  dismantled  portion 
of  the  road.  The  rails  were  fished  up  from  the 
deep  water,  and  before  twelve  o'clock  the  track  was 
in  as  good  order  as  ever. 

If  the  students  of  the  Wimpleton  Institute  looked 
over  the    lake,   and   enjoyed    the    mischief  they  had 


264  THROUGH    BY    DAYLIGHT,    OR 

done,  —  as  of  course  they  did,  —  their  satisfaction  was 
of  short  duration.  Before  they  were  turned  out  to 
play  in  the  afternoon,  the  dummy  was  running  her 
regular  trips  to  Spangleport.  I  have  no  doubt  the 
rascals  who  did  the  mischief  felt  cheap  and  crest- 
fallen when  they  saw  the  car  going  on  its  way  as 
though  nothing  had  happened ;  and  I  had  no  more 
doubt  that  they  would  consider  their  work  ill  done, 
and  attempt  to  do  it  over  again.  They  were  not 
allowed  to  go  out  nights ;  but  I  am  afraid  the 
authorities  of  the  Institute  did  not  punish  them 
very  severely  when  they  broke  through  the  rules  in 
order  to  do  mischief  to  the  establishment  on  the 
other  side.  It  was  only  following  the  example  of 
the  magnate  of  Centreport  and  many  of  their  elders; 
and  "  like  master,  like  man." 

When  the  torn-up  track  was  relaid,  the  twenty 
men  were  conveyed  beyond  Spangleport  to  build  the 
road.  Frogs  and  switches  had  been  procured,  the 
turning  apparatus  was  finished,  and  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  running  both  ways  in  ship-shape  style.  By 
laying  a  few  rods  of  track,  and  putting  down  a 
couple  of  switches   near  the    engine-house,  we  were 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  265 

enabled  to  turn  at  the  Middleport  end.  We  always 
switched  off  to  run  into  the  engine-house,  and  we 
had  to  back  in,  from  a  point  above  the  house.  On 
the  new  track  we  ran  out  to  a  point  below,  and  came 
upon  the  main  line  headed  towards  Spangleport.  I 
take  the  more  pride  in  describing  these  movements, 
because  they  were  of  my  own  invention,  though  I 
have  since  learned  that  similar  plans  had  been  used 
before. 

Towards  night  on  the  second  day  of  my  railroad 
experience,  Major  Toppleton  was  a  passenger  in  the 
engine-room.  He  was  in  high  spirits  to  think  the 
mischief  done  by  the  Wimpletonians  had  been  so 
speedily  repaired;  but  he  was  afraid  the  daring  act 
would  be  repeated,  as  I  was  quite  satisfied  it  would. 
I  knew  my  late  comrades  on  the  Centreport  side 
well  enough  to  understand  that  they  would  never 
let  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  enjoy  peace  and  pros- 
perity until  they  were  provided  with  an  equivalent. 
I  was  confident  that  Colonel  Wimpleton  was  racking 
his  brains  even  then  for  a  scheme  which  would  pro- 
duce an  equal  excitement  among  the  students  of 
his  Institute. 


266  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"You  know  those  villains  over  there  better  than 
I  do,  Wolf,"  said  the  major  confidentially  to  me ; 
and  I  was  amazed  to  hear  him  own  that  I  knew 
anything  better  than  he  did.  "  Don't  you  think  they 
will  attempt  to  tear  up  the  track  again  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  do  think  so,"  I  replied. 

"  The  rascals !  It  mortifies  me  to  have  them  get 
ahead  of  me  in  this  manner.  If  I  could  only  catch 
them,  I  would  cure  them  of  night  wandering  very 
quick.  It  is  of  no  use  for  me  to  complain  to  the 
colonel,  or  to  the  principal  of  the  Wimpleton  Insti- 
tute.    They  would  enjoy  my  chagrin." 

"  It  is  easy  enough  to  prevent  them  from  doing 
any  more  mischief,"  I  added. 

"  How  ?  "  he  asked,  eagerly. 

"By  setting  a  watch." 

"  Yes ;  and  while  we  are  watching  in  one  place 
they  will  tear  up  the  rails  in  another." 

"  There  are  two  ways  to  do  it.  Your  tow-boat 
can  ply  up  and  down  the  shore,  or  we  can  run  the 
dummy  all  night." 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  stand  it  to  run  the  dummy 
all  night,  Wolf?"  laughed  he. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  267 

"My  father  and  I  could  for  a  few  nights." 
The  tow-boat  had  gone  up  the  lake  with  a  fleet 
of  canal  boats,  and  the  other  plan  was  the  only 
alternative.  I  saw  my  father  at  six  o'clock.  He  was 
ready  to  serve  on  the  watch,  but  he  was  not  willing 
to  leave  my  mother  alone  with  my  sisters  at  home 
all  night,  fearful  that  some  of  the  chivalrous  Wim- 
pletonians  might  undertake  to  annoy  her.  But  Faxon 
volunteered  to  serve  with  me,  and  was  pleased  with 
the  idea.  We  lighted  up  the  reflecting  lamp  over 
the  door  of  the  engine,  and  though  it  was  dark, 
we  put  her  "  through  by  daylight,"  in  a  figurative 
sense. 

We  talked  till  we  were  sleepy,  and  then  by  turns 
each  of  us  took  a  nap,  lying  upon  the  cushions  of 
the  passenger  compartment.  It  was  a  good  bed,  and 
we  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  the  situation.  Faxon  by 
this  time  understood  the  machinery  very  well,  and  I 
was  not  afraid  to  trust  him.  We  did  not  run  on 
regular  hours,  and  lay  still  more  than  half  the  time, 
after  Faxon  had  run  the  car  as  much  as  he  desired. 
We  kept  an  eye  on  the  lake  for  hpats,  of  which  the 
Wimpletonians  had  a  whole  squadron. 


268  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

Only  once  during  the  night  was  there  anything 
like  an  alarm.  We  saw  half  a  dozen  boats  come 
down  through  the  Narrows  about  eleven  o'clock, 
but  we  soon  lost  sight  of  them  under  the  shadow 
of  the  opposite  shore.  We  saw  nothing  more  of 
them,  and  I  concluded  that  the  dummy,  with  her 
bright  light  on  the  shore,  had  prevented  another 
attack  upon  the  railroad.  After  this  all  was  quiet, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  get  up  an  excitement 
upon. 

The  next  day  I  was  rather  sleepy  at  times,  and  so 
was  Faxon.  At  eight  o'clock  the  major  appeared, 
and  I  told  him  we  had  probably  prevented  another 
raid  upon  the  road,  for  we  had  seen  a  fleet  of  boats 
pass  through  the  Narrows. 

"  All  right,  Wolf;  I  am  glad  we  balked  the  scoun- 
drels," answered  the  major  ;  •  and  almost  anything 
seemed  to  be  a  victory  to  the  great  man  of  Mid- 
dleport. 

"I  suppose  they  will  try  again  some  other  time," 
I  added. 

"We  will  see  that  they  don't  succeed.  Now  we 
must  push  along  the  road  as  fast  as  we  can.    I  don't 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  269 

like  to  disappoint  the  boys,  but  I  can't  wait  for  them 
to  build  the  rest  of  it." 

I  could  not  help  smiling. 

"  What  is  it,  Wolf  ?  "  he  asked,  smiling  with  me ; 
and  great  men's  smiles  are  sunshine  to  the  heart. 

"  I  don't  think  they  will  cry  if  you  don't  let  them 
do  any  more." 

"  Don't  you  ?  Why,  they  begged  me  to  let  them 
do  the  work  with  their  own  hands,  and  I  have 
gratified  them  thus  far." 

I  soon  convinced  him  that  the  boys  were  not 
anxious  to  do  any  more  digging,  or  to  lay  any  more 
rails ;  that  hard  work  was  "  played  out "  with  them. 
The  magnate  was  delighted  to  hear  it;  and  there 
was  no  grumbling  because  the  students  were  not 
called  upon  to  use  the  shovels  and  the  hammers. 
I  ran  the  dummy  out  with  the  men,  after  that,  every 
morning  at  seven  o'clock,  and  the  road  progressed 
rapidly  towards  Grass  Springs. 

At  noon  we  heard  astounding  news  from  Centre- 
port.  All  the  boats  belonging  to  the  Wimpleton 
Institute  —  not  less  than  a  dozen  of  them  —  had 
mysteriously  disappeared.      No    one  knew  what  had 


270  THEOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OE 

happened  to  them,  and  no  one  had  heard  anything 
in  the  night  to  indicate  what  had  become  of  them. 
Major  Toppleton  inquired  very  particularly  about  the 
fleet  of  boats  Faxon  and  I  had  seen ;  but  our  in- 
formation did  not  elucidate  the  mystery.  I  observed 
that  my  fellow-engineer  winked  at  me  very  signifi- 
cantly, as  though  he  knew  more  than  he  chose  to  tell. 

"  What  did  you  wink  for,  Faxon  ?  "  I  asked,  when 
we  started  on  our  trip,  and  were  alone. 

"  You  are  as  blind  as  the  major,"  laughed  he. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  About  forty  of  the  Toppletonians  found  a  way  to 
get  out  of  the  Institute  last  night.  You  won't  say 
a  word  about  this  —  will  you  ?  " 

"You  had  better  not  tell  me,  Faxon." 

"But  I  will  tell  you,  for  I  don't  think  the  major 
or  the  principal  will  say  anything  if  the  whole  thing 
is  blown.  You  know  where  the  quarries  are,  above 
Centreport,  on  that  side." 

"  Of  course  I  do." 

"The  Wimpleton  boats,  loaded  with  rocks,  and 
the  plugs  taken  out,  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake, 
in  twenty  feet  of  water,  off  the  quarries.      We  are 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  271 

even  with  those  fellows  now  for  tearing  up  our 
track." 

"That's  too  bad!"  I  exclaimed. 

"  Too  bad !  It  wasn't  too  bad  to  tear  up  our 
track  —  was  it  ?  "  replied  he,  indignantly. 

"  Tavo  wrongs  don't  make  a  right,"  I  replied, 
sagely. 

"  But  one  evil  sometimes  corrects  another  — '  simi- 
Ua  similibus  curanturj  as  our  little-pill  doctor  used 
to  say.  The  loss  of  their  boats  will  prevent  the 
Wimps  from  coming  over  here  again  in  the  night 
to  cut  up  our  road." 

I  was  a  boy,  like  the  rest  of  them  ;  but  I  did 
not  exactly  enjoy  this  "  tit  for  tat "  business.  My 
mother  had  always  taught  me  to  exercise  a  Christian 
spirit,  and  this  "  paying  back "  was  a  diabolical 
spirit.  I  would  not  tell  of  these  things,  nor  suffer 
my  readers  to  gloat  over  them,  if  any  are  dis- 
posed to  do  so,  —  were  it  not  to  show  how  these 
two  great  men,  and  all  the  little  men  who  hung 
upon  the  skirts  of  their  coats,  were  finally  reconciled 
to  each  other ;  and  how,  out  of  war  and  vengeance, 
came  "peace  and  good  will  to  men." 


272  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OK 

Before  Miss  Grace  Toppleton's  birthday  arrived, 
the  road  was  finished  to  Sandy  Beach,  and  the 
grand  picnic  took  place.  The  two  platform  cars 
had  seats  built  upon  them,  and  were  attached  to 
the  dummy.  I  conveyed  about  a  hundred  a  trip- 
until  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  all  Middle- 
port  appeared  to  have  been  transported  to  the 
grove.  The  aifair  was  very  elaborate  in  all  its 
details.  Tents,  pavilions,  booths,  and  swings  had 
been  erected,  and  the  Ucayga  Cornet  Band  was  on 
the  ground. 

When  I  came  in  on  the  twelve  o'clock  trip,  my 
father  presented  himself  at  the  door  of  the  engine- 
room,  his  face  wreathed  in  smiles.  My  mother  and 
sisters  were  present,  for  we  were  now  regarded  as 
Micldleporters. 

"I  will  take  care  of  this  thing  for  a  short  time, 
Wolf,  and  you  may  go  and  see  the  fun,"  said  my 
father. 

"I  don't  care  about  going  now." 

"  O,  you  must  go ;  the  people  want  to  see  you." 

Thus   urged  I  entered    the    grove,  and  found  my- 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  273 

self  before  a  speaker's   stand,  on    which  Major  Top- 
pleton was  holding  forth  to  the  people. 

"  Come  here,  Wolf!  "  called  he.      "  I  want  to  see 

you." 

A  couple  of  the  students  seized  me  by  the  arras, 
and,  dragging  me  forward,  actually  forced  me  up  the 
steps  upon  the  speaker's  stand.  I  blushed,  was  be- 
wildered and  confused. 

"  Three  cheers  for  Wolf !  "  shouted  Faxon  ;  and 
they  were  given. 

"  Come  forward,  Wolf.  The  people  want  to  see 
you,"  added  the  major,  dragging  me  to  the  front  of 
the  stage. 

I  blushed,  and  tried  to  escape ;  and  then  the  great 
man  jumped  down,  and  left  me  alone  on  the  platform. 
I  took  off  my  cap,  and  bowed. 

"Mr.  Wolf." 

I  turned.  Miss  Grace  Toppleton  was  on  the  stage 
with  me.     I  looked  at  her  with  wonder. 

"  Mr.  Wolf,"  she  continued,  "  the  students  of  the 
Toppleton  Institute,  grateful  to  you  for  your  labors 
on  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  wish  to  present  you 
18 


274  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OE 

this  gold  watch ;  and  I  assure  you  it  affords  me 
very  great  pleasure  to  be  the  bearer  of  this  token 
to  you." 

She   handed   me  the  watch,  and  I  took  it,  with  a 
red  face  and  a  trembling  hand. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  275 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


"WOLF  S    SPEECH. 


I  WAS  never  so  "taken  aback"  in  my  life  as 
when  I  heard  the  silvery  voice  of  Miss  Grace 
Toppleton,  and  saw  the  magnificent  gift  in  her  hand. 
At  any  time  I  should  have  looked  at  her  with  in- 
terest; but  just  then  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  sun 
had  ceased  to  shine,  and  all  the  light  which  flowed 
down  upon  the  brilliant  scene  around  me  came  from 
her  beautiful  face.  I  wished  there  was  a  hole  in 
the  platform  beneath  me,  through  which  I  might 
sink  out  of  sight ;  but  then,  I  am  sure,  if  I  had 
gone  down  into  the  gloom  of  the  space  beneath 
me,  I  should  instantly  have  wished  myself  back 
again ;  for  I  was  the  hero  of  the  occasion,  and  the 
soft  eyes  of  Miss  Grace  were  fixed  upon  me. 

As   I   listened    to    the    silvery   tones    of   the   fair 
orator,  I  became  conscious  that  I  was  presenting  a 


276  THBOUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

very  awkward  appearance.  My  hands  seemed  to 
be  as  big  as  the  feet  of  an  elephant,  and  altogether 
too  large  to  go  into  my  pockets.  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  them,  or  where  to  put  them.  I 
felt  like  a  great  clumsy  booby.  But  when  the 
thought  flashed  upon  me  that  Miss  Grace  was  look- 
ing at  me,  and  that  she  must  consider  me  a  boor- 
ish cub,  I  felt  the  necessity  of  doing  something 
to  redeem  myself.  When  I  was  fully  conscious  that 
she  was  observing  me,  I  quite  forgot  that  anybody 
else  was  engaged  in  a  similar  occupation.  I  straight- 
ened up,  stiffened  the  quaking  muscles  in  my  frame, 
and  permitted  my  cumbrous  hands  to  fall  at  my 
side,  just  as  the  professor  of  elocution  in  the  Wim- 
pleton  Institute  had  instructed  me  to  do  when  I 
spoke  "  in  public  on  the  stage."   . 

If  the  change  of  attitude  produced  no  effect  upon 
others,  it  did  in  me,  for  I  knew  then  that  I  looked 
like  a  civilized  boy,  and  bore  myself  with  the  dignity 
becoming  the  young  engineer  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad.  Miss  Grace  handed  me  the  watch,  and 
I  took  it  with  my  best  bow.  She  finished  her 
"neat  little  speech,"  and  as  her  silvery  tones  ceased, 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  277 

I  was  painfully  conscious  that  something  was  ex- 
pected of  me.  It  was  a  hard  case.  Clinging  to 
the  cow-catcher  of  a  locomotive  going  at  thirty 
miles  an  hour  was  nothing  to  it.  Again  I  longed 
for  a  hole  in  the  platform  through  which  I  might 
disappear  from  the  public  gaze.  But  there  was  no 
hole  in  the  platform,  and  no  chance  to  escape.  The 
audience  were  heartily  applauding  the  presentation 
speech  of  Miss  Grace ;  and  I  think  the  major  was 
prouder  of  her  then  than  he  had  ever  before  been 
in  his  life. 

While  this  demonstration  was  in  progress,  I  tried 
to  gather  up  my  thoughts  for  the  mighty  effort  I 
was  to  make.  A  labored  apology,  with  something 
about  being  in  a  "tight  place,"  flashed  upon  my 
mind  as  a  suitable  preface  to  my  speech;  but  I 
almost  as  quickly  decided  not  to  make  any  apol- 
ogy; for,  since  no  one  could  suspect  me  of  being 
a  speech-maker,  I  was  not  likely  to  fall  below  their 
expectations  as  an  orator.  Before  I  had  concluded 
what  I  should  say,  or  try  to  say,  the  applause 
ceased  for  an  instant,  and  then  the  Toppletonians 
began  to  shout,  "  Speech !  Speech ! " 


278  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,    OR 

If  I  could  run  an  engine,  there  was  no  good 
reason  why  I  should  not  make  a  speech.  I  had 
something  to  say,  and  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  say 
it.  Really  it  seemed  to  be  the  simplest  thing  in 
the  world,  and  I  determined  to  "go  in,"  however 
I  might  come  out  of  it.  In  a  word,  I  was  re- 
solved to  put  it  "  through  by  daylight." 

"Miss  Grace  Toppleton,"  I  began;  and  the  utter- 
ing of  the  whole  name  seemed  to  afford  me  a  grate- 
ful respite  of  some  fraction  of  a  second  in  which 
to  gather  up  the  next  idea.  "I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  the  students  of  the  To])pleton  Institute 
for  this  beautiful  gift.  A  gold  watch  is  something 
I  never  expected  to  have.  I  didn't  think  of  any- 
thing of  this  kind  when  I  came  in  here,  and  for 
that  reason  I  was  very  much  surprised.  I  shall 
always  keep  this  watch,  and  whenever  I  look  at  its 
face,  it  will  remind  me  of  the  generous  fellows  who 
gave  it  to  me.     I  shall  — " 

I  was  interrupted  by  a  burst  of  rapturous  ap- 
plause from  the  students;  and  while  I  was  waiting 
for  it  to  subside,  I  was  satisfied  that  I  was  doing 
very  well. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  279 

"I  shall  endeavor,  with  the  help  of  this  watch, 
always  to  be  on  time;  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  able 
to  do  my  duty  to  the  officers  and  to  the  liberal 
patron  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad.  Miss  Topple- 
ton,  I  am  very  grateful  to  all  the  good  fellows  who 
have  given  me  this  splendid  watch;  and  though  I 
don't  believe  in  wearing  two  faces,  I  shall  never 
look  at  the  face  of  this  watch  without  thinking  of 
another  face  —  the  face  of  the  one  who  so  prettily 
presented  it." 

"Good!  Good!"  shout-ed  the  students;  and  anoth 
er  round  of  applause  encouraged  me  in  my  arduous 
task. 

"I  shall  always  prize  this  watch,"  I  continued, 
glancing  at  the  beautiful  time-keeper,  "for  the  sake 
of  those  who  gave  it  to  me;  and  I  am  sure  I  shall 
give  it  a  double  value  because  of  the  fair  hands 
from  which  it  passed  into  my  own.  With  ten 
thousand  thanks  for  the  beautiful  gift,  I  shall  try 
to  perform  my  duty  better  than  ever  before;  and 
whatever  work  is  given  me  to  do,  I  shall  put  it 
through  by  daylight." 

I  made  my  best  bow  again,  and  retired  from  the 


280  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

stage  amid  a  storm  of  applause.  As  Miss  Grace 
followed  me,  I  helped  her  down  the  steps.  The 
pleasant,  arch  smile  she  bestowed  upon  me  made 
me  feel  that  I  had  not  said  anything  which  she 
disliked. 

"Mr.  Wolf,  you  are  quite  a  speech-maker,"  said 
she. 

"I  don't  know;  I  never  did  any  such  thing  be- 
fore," I  replied,  blushing  like  a  little  girl. 

"You  did  it  real  well,  Mr.  Wolf;  and  when  they 
don't  want  you  to  run  the  engine,  you  must  go  to 
Congi'ess." 

"  If  I  had  only  known  what  was  going  on,  I 
should  have  got  ready  for  it,  and  shouldn't  have 
felt  quite  so  sheepish." 

"  That  would  have  spoiled  the  whole.  You  did 
splendidly.  Now  let  me  fasten  the  chain  to  your 
vest,  and  see  how  you  look  with  the  watch  on." 

She  took  the  watch  from  my  hand,  adjusted  the 
chain  in  a  button-hole  of  my  vest  with  her  own 
fair  hands,  and  I  could  hardly  resist  the  temptation 
to  do  or  say  something  intensely  ridiculous ;  but  I 
did   resist  it,  and   only  thanked   her   as   coolly   as  I 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  281 

could  for  the  service.  Major  Toppleton  came  up, 
and  congratulated  me  on  my  speech.  I  think  they 
did  not  expect  me  to  be  able  to  say  anything,  and 
perhaps  some  of  the  students  would  have  enjoyed 
the  scene  quite  as  much  if  I  had  broken  down 
completely.  But  I  am  confident  that  all  the  com- 
pliments I  received  were  based  upon  the  very 
meagre  expectations  of  my  intelligent  audience. 

The  students  used  me  very  handsomely,  and  for 
the  time  did  not  put  on  any  airs.  They  treated 
me  as  an  equal,  and  even  Tommy  Toppleton  was 
as  gracious  as  though  I  had  been  the  scion  of  a 
great  house  like  his  own.  Miss  Grace  walked  with 
me  to  the  refreshment  tables,  and  while  the  band, 
whose  leader  seemed  to  be  an  aAvful  satirist,  wick- 
edly played,  "Hail  to  the  Chief,"  I  partook  of 
chicken  salad,  cake,  and  ice-cream,  being  actually 
waited  upon  by  the  fair  oratorical  divinity  who 
had  presented  me  the  watch.  I  was  afraid  she 
would  scold  me  for  saying  that  I  should  think  of 
her  face  whenever  I  looked  at  the  face  of  the 
watch;  but  she  did  not,  and  I  suppose  she  regard- 
ed the  daring  expression  as  a  piece  of  "buncombe" 
tolerated  by  the  license  of  such  an  occasion. 


282  THEOUGH   BY    DAYLIGHT,   OB 

I  spent  an  hour  in  the  most  agreeable  manner 
in  the  Sandy  Beach  Grove ;  indeed,  the  whole  scene 
is  still  a  bright  spot  in  my  memory.  But  I  was 
obliged  to  return  to  the  dummy,  for  after  all  I  was 
only  a  poor  boy,  an  employee  of  the  magnate  of 
Toppleton.  I  was  out  of  place  at  the  feast  and 
the  revel;  but  I  was  very  grateful  to  the  students, 
and  to  all  the  people,  especially  Miss  Grace  Topple- 
ton, who  had  treated  me  with  such  "distinguished 
consideration."  I  resumed  my  place  on  the  eDgine, 
and  as  there  were  a  great  many  people  to  convey 
back  to  Middleport,  I  made  quick  trips,  and  literally 
succeeded  in  putting  them  all  "through  by  day- 
light." 

After  I  had  put  up  the  dummy  for  the  night,  I 
went  over  to  Centreport  with  my  father,  mother, 
and  sisters  in  the  major's  sail-boat,  which  he 
placed  at  my  disposal  for  the  purpose.  I  had  never 
seen  my  parents  so  happy  before.  If  they  were 
proud  of  me,  I  could  afford  to  forgive  them  for  it. 
We  had  almost  forgotten  that  the  cloud  of  mis- 
fortune had  ever  lowered  above  us.  My  father 
had    not   tasted    a    drop    of   liquor    since    the    fatal 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEEB.  283 

day  on  which  he  had  lost  his  money,  and  this  was 
enough  to  make  us  all  happy,  without  any  of  the 
other  pleasant  events  which  had  gladdened  our 
hearts.  God  had  been  very  merciful  to  us,  and 
had  turned  the  wrath  of  man  into  blessings  for 
us,  and  I  am  sure  we  were  all  grateful  to  him  for 
his  goodness. 

Nothing  definite  had  been  heard  from  Christy 
Holgate,  but  it  was  believed  that  he  had  gone  to 
the  South.  A  close  watch  was  kept  upon  his  fam- 
ily in  Ucayga;  for  it  was  supposed  that  he  would 
send  for  them,  and  it  was  hoped  that  their  move- 
ments would  enable  the  officer  in  charge  of  the 
case  to  ascertain  his  present  residence.  My  father 
despaired  of  ever  hearing  from  the  runaway  or  the 
money,  and  all  agreed  that  it  would  be  but  a  poor 
satisfaction  to  have  the  wretch  sent  to  the  state 
prison  for  even  a  short  term. 

"We  walked  from  the  mill  wharf  up  to  the  house 
after  I  had  securely  moored  the  sail-boat.  We  were 
still  talking  over  the  pleasant  events  of  the  day, 
and,  for  the  third  time,  I  had  showed  my  watch 
to  my  sisters,  who  were  prouder  of  it  than  I  was. 


284  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

As  we  approached  the  house,  I  saw  Captain  Syn- 
ders  sitting  on  the  fence,  and  apparently  waiting 
for  the  return  of  my  father  or  myself.  I  could 
not  believe  that  he  had  any  business  with  me,  for 
Colonel  Wimpleton  had  paid  the  honest  skipper 
for  the  destruction  of  his  boat,  and  nothing  had 
been  said  for  a  week  about  arresting  me  for  taking 
part  in  the  mischief. 

"  I'm  waiting  for  you,  Mr.  Penniman,"  said  Syn- 
ders,  as  we  went  up  to  the  gate. 

"I  hope  you  haven't  had  to  wait  long,"  replied 
my  father,  gently. 

"Long  enough,"  added  the  constable,  gruffly. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you  ? "  inquired  my  father, 
rather  anxiously,  I  thought,  though  his  face  wore  a 
good-natured  smile. 

"  Nothing  for  me,  but  you  can  do  something  for 
Colonel  Wimpleton." 

"What  can  I  do  for  him?" 

"  Pay  the  note  of  two  thousand  dollars  which 
was  due  at  noon  to-day,"  continued  Synders,  ma- 
liciously. 

"  Colonel  Wimpleton    knows  very   well    that  my 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEEK.  285 

money  was  stolen  from  me,  and  that  I  cannot  pay 
him,"  replied  my  father. 

"It's  nothing  to  him  that  your  money  was  stolen. 
You  must  pay  the  note." 

"I  can't  do  that." 

"Well,  we  know  you  didn't  do  it,  and  this  after- 
noon the  colonel  foreclosed  the  mortgage.  I'm  here 
to  give  you  notice  of  it,  and  to  warn  you  out  of 
the  house." 

"  Does  he  mean  to  turn  me  out  to-night  ? "  asked 
my  father. 

"I  shall  give  you  legal  notice  to  quit,  before  wit- 
nesses." 

"I  will  pay  rent  for  the  house,"  suggested  my 
father. 

"That  won't  do,"  answered  Synders,  shaking  his 
head.  "  The  house  must  be  sold  after  legal  notice 
has  been  given ;  and  in  my  opinion  it  won't  bring 
a  dollar  over  the  mortgage,  under  the  hammer." 

"Well,  I  can't  help  myself,"  added  my  father, 
gloomily. 

"  You  made  a  bad  mistake  when  you  turned  upon 
the  colonel,"  sneered  the  officer. 


286  THE0UGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OB 

"I  didn't  turn  upon  him;  but  we  will  not  talk 
about  that." 

My  father  was  very  much  depressed  at  the  thought 
of  losing  the  thousand  dollars  which  he  had  invested 
in  his  house.  All  he  had  saved  was  to  be  swept 
away  from  him.  The  constable  procured  his  wit- 
nesses, served  his  legal  notices,  and  went  away 
chuckling  over  the  misery  he  left  behind  him. 
Doubtless  he  exaggerated  the  confusion  and  dismay 
of  my  father  when  he  reported  his  doings  to  his 
employer,  and  the  great  man  gloated  proportionally 
over  the  wreck  he  was  making. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINKEB.  287 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE   AUCTION    SALE. 

MY  father  was  very  unhappy,  and  my  mother 
was  afraid  he  would  again  resort  to  the  cup 
for  solace  in  his  misfortune.  I  do  not  know  what 
she  said  to  him;  but  he  treated  her  very  tenderly, 
and  never  was  a  woman  more  devoted  than  she 
was  during  this  threatening  misfortune.  My  father 
was  again  a  poor  man.  All  that  he  had  of  worldly 
goods  was  to  be  stripped  from  him  to  satisfy  the 
malice  of  his  hard  creditor.  He  was  too  proud  to 
apply  to  Major  Toppleton  for  assistance,  believing 
that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  property 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lake. 

I  continued  to  run  the  dummy,  and  was  so  happy 
as  to  keep  on  the  right  side  of  the  major,  his  son, 
and  the  students.  Before  the  expiration  of  the  legal 
notice,  my  father  hired  a  small  house  in  Middleport, 


288  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

and  we  moved  into  it.  It  was  only  a  hovel,  com- 
pared with  the  neat  and  comfortable  dwelling  we 
had  occupied  in  Centreport,  and  the  change  was 
depressing  to  all  the  members  of  the  family.  My 
father's  place  was  advertised  to  be  sold,  and  as  the 
day  —  which  looked  like  a  fatal  one  to  us  —  drew 
near,  we  were  all  very  sad  and  nervous.  Nothing 
had  yet  been  heard  of  Christy  ;  and  the  case  was  a 
plain  one.  The  thousand  dollars  saved  from  the 
earnings  of  the  debtor  was  to  be  sacrificed.  No 
man  in  Centreport,  however  much  he  wanted  the 
house,  would   dare  to  bid  upon   it. 

My  father  desired  to  attend  the  sale,  perhaps 
hoj^eful  that  his  presence  might  induce  some  friend 
of  other  days  to  bid  a  little  more  for  the  place.  My 
mother  did  not  wish  to  have  him  attend  the  auction; 
but  as  he  insisted,  she  desired  that  I  should  go  with 
him.  I  had  no  wish  to  be  present  at  the  humiliat- 
ing spectacle,  or  to  endure  the  sneers  and  the  jeers 
of  the  Centreporters ;  but  I  decided  to  go,  for  my 
presence  might  be  some  restraint  upon  my  father,  if 
his  misfortunes  tempted  him  to  drink  again.  I 
applied  to  Major  Toppleton  for  leave  of  absence  for 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  289 

my  father  and  myself  on  the  clay  of  the  sale.  My 
father  had  engaged  a  man  to  take  his  place,  and 
Faxon   could  now  run  the   dummy. 

"What's  going  on  over  there?"  asked  the  major, 
after  he  had  consented  to  the  absence  of  both  of  us. 

"  My  father's  place  is  to  be  sold  at  auction. 
Colonel  Wimpleton  has  foreclosed  the  mortgage,"  I 
replied. 

"How  much  has  your  father  paid  on  the  house?" 

"  He  paid  a  thousand  dollars  down ;  and  the  mort- 
gage is  for  two  thousand.  He  would  have  paid  the 
note  when  it  was  due,  but  his  money  was  stolen 
from  him." 

"I  remember  about  that,"  added  the  major,  mus- 
ing. "Will  the  place  bring  enough  at  auction  to 
enable  your  father  to  get  back  the  thousand  dollars 
he  paid." 

"JSTo,  sir;  we  don't  expect  it  will  bring  anything 
over  the  mortgage.  Colonel  Wimpleton  means  to 
punish  my  father  by  ruining  him,  and  none  of  the 
Centreport  people  will  dare  to  bid  on  the  place." 

He  asked  me  several  questions  more,  and  I  told 
him  as  well  as  I  could  how  the  matter  stood.  I 
19 


290  THEOTJGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

was  hoping  most  earnestly  that  he  would  offer  to 
advance  the  money  to  pay  off  the  mortgage ;  but 
just  as  my  expectations  reached  the  highest  pitch, 
a  gentleman  interrupted  the  conversation,  and  the 
major  went  off  with  him  in  a  few  moments,  having 
apparently  forgotten  all  about  the  subject.  My 
hopes  were  dashed  down.  I  conveyed  all  the  stu- 
dents out  to  Sandy  Beach  in  the  dummy  that  after- 
noon, and  brought  them  back ;  but  I  was  so  absorbed 
in  our  family  affairs  that  I  hardly  knew  what  I  was 
doing. 

At  one  o'clock  the  next  day,  I  went  over  to  Cen- 
treport  with  father  to  attend  the  sale.  He  was  very 
nervous,  and  I  was  hardly  less  so.  At  the  appointed 
time,  a  large  collection  of  people  gathered  around 
the  house.  A  red  flag  was  flying  on  the  fence,  and 
all  the  company  seemed  as  jovial  as  if  they  were 
assembled  for  a  picnic,  rather  than  to  complete  the 
ruin  of  my  poor  father.  Hardly  any  one  spoke  to 
us;  but  I  saw  many  who  appeared  to  be  talking 
about  us,  and  enjoying  the  misery  we  experienced 
at  the  prospect  of  seeing  our  beloved-  home  pass 
into  other  hands. 


THE    YOUNG   ENGINEER.  291 

Colonel  Wimpleton  was  there,  and  so  was  Waddie. 
Both  of  them,  seemed  to  be  very  happy,  and  both 
of  them  stared  at  ns  as  though  we  had  no  right 
to  set  foot  on  the  sacred  soil  of  Centreport.  Others 
imitated  their  illustrious  example,  and  we  were  made 
as  uncomfortable  as  possible.  In  our  hearing,  and 
evidently  for  our  benefit,  a  couple  of  men  discussed 
their  proposed  bids,  one  declaring  that  he  would  go 
as  high  as  fifteen  dollars,  while  the  other  would  not 
be  willing  to  take  the  place  at  so  high  a  figure. 
Finally,  the  colonel,  after  passing  us  a  dozen  times, 
halted  before  my  father. 

"I  suppose  you  have  come  over  to  bid  on  the 
place,   Ralph,"  said  he. 

"No,  sir;  I  have  nothing  to  back  my  bid  with," 
replied  my  father,  meekly. 

"  You  had  better  bid ;  I  don't  think  it  will  bring 
more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars  over  the  mort- 
gage," chuckled  the  magnate. 

"It  ought  to  bring  fifteen  hundred,"  added  my 
father.     "I  was  offered  that  for  it  once." 

"You  should  have  taken  it.  Real  estate  is  very 
much  depressed  in  the  market." 


292  THROUGH  BT  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"I  should  think  it  was;  and  I'm  afraid  Centre- 
port  is  going  down,"  answered  my  father,  with  a 
faint  smile. 

"Going  down!"  exclaimed  the  great  man,  stung 
by  the  reflection.  "Any  other  piece  of  property  in 
Centreport  would  sell  a  hundred  per  cent,  higher 
than  this." 

"  I  supjDose  so  !  "  ejaculated  my  poor  father,  fully 
understanding  the  reason  why  his  place  was  to  be 
sacrificed. 

The  auctioneer,  who  had  mounted  the  steps  of 
the  front  door,  interrupted  the  conversation.  He 
stated  that  he  was  about  to  sell  all  the  right,  title, 
and  interest  which  Ralph  Penniman  had  in  the 
estate  at  twelve  o'clock  on  a  certain  day,  described 
the  mortgage,  and  called  for  a  bid. 

"  Twenty-five  cents,"  said  a  colored  man  in  the 
crowd. 

The  audience  gave  way  to  a  hearty  burst  of  laugh- 
ter at  the  richness  of  the  bid. 

"  Thirty  cents,"  added  Colonel  "Wimpleton,  as  soon 
as  the  noise  had  subsided. 

The   auctioneer   dwelt   on   it   for    a  moment,   and 


THE    YOUNG    ENGINEER.  293 

then  the  colored  man  advanced  to  thirty-one  cents. 
By  this  time  it  was  clear  to  us  that  these  proceed- 
'  ings  were  a  farce,  intended  to  torment  my  father. 
I  had  never  endured  agonies  more  keen  than  those 
which  followed  these  ridiculous  bids,  as  I  became 
conscious  that  my  father  was  the  butt  of  the  com- 
pany's derision.  The  colonel,  more  liberal  than  the 
negro,  went  up  to  thirty-five  cents,  whereupon  the 
latter  advanced  another  cent,  amid  the  laughter  and 
jeers  of  the  assembly.  Thus  it  continued  for  some 
time,  the  colored  man,  who  had  doubtless  been 
engaged  to  play  his  part,  going  up  one  cent  and 
the  great  man  four.  Others  occasionally  bid  a  cent 
or  a  half  cent  more ;  and  half  an  hour  was  consumed 
in  windy  eloquence  by  the  auctioneer,  and  in  cent 
and  half-cent  bids,  before  the  offer   reached  a  dollar. 

"  One  dollar  and  five  cents,"  said  Colonel  Wimple- 
ton,  at  this  point. 

"One  dollar  and  six  cents,"  promptly  responded 
the  negro. 

"One  dollar  and  six  cents  is  bid  for  this  very 
desirable  estate,"  added  the  auctioneer.  "  Consider, 
gentlemen,  the  value  of  this  property,  and   the   cir- 


294  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OR 

cumstances  under  which  it  is  sold.  Every  dollar 
you  bid  goes  into  the  pocket  of  the  honest  and 
hard-working  mortgagor." 

"  One  dollar  and  ten  cents,"  said  the  colonel,  as 
if  moved  by  this   appeal. 

"  Dollar  'leven,"  added  the  negro. 

"  Consider,  gentlemen,  the  situation  of  the  unfortu- 
nate man  whose  interest  in  this  property  I  am  selling." 

"  Dollar  fifteen,"  said  the  colonel. 

"Dollar  fifteen  and  a  half,"  persisted  the  negro, 
amid  roars  of  laughter. 

"  One  thousand  dollars,"  said  some  one  in  the 
rear  of  the   crowd,  in  a  loud,  clear  tone. 

If  the  explosion  of  the  honest  skipper's  canal  boat, 
which  had  been  the  indirect  cause  of  the  present 
gathering,  had  taken  place  in  the  midst  of  the 
crowd,  it  could  not  have  produced  greater  amaze- 
ment and  consternation  than  the  liberal  bid  of  the 
gentleman  on  the  outskirts  of  the  assemblnge.  It 
was  a  bombshell  of  the  first  magnitude  which  burst 
upon  the  hilarious  people  of  Centreport,  met,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  sacrificing  my 
poor  father.     I  recognized  the  voice  of  the  bidder. 


THE   YOUNG  ENGINEER.  295 

It  was  Major  Toppleton. 

I  had  not  seen  him  before.  I  did  not  know  he 
was  present.  I  afterwards  learned  that  he  arrived 
only  a  moment  before  he  made  the  bid,  and  only- 
had  time  to  perceive  the  nature  of  the  farce  which 
was  transpiring  before  he  turned  it  into  a  tragedy. 

"  Dollar  fifteen  and  a  half,"  repeated  the  auction- 
eer, so  startled  that  he  chose  not  to  take  the  astound- 
ing bid  of  the  magnate  of  Middleport. 

"I  bid  one  thousand  dollars,"  shouted  Major  Top- 
pleton, angrily,  as  he  forced  his  way  through  the 
crowd  to  the  foot  of  the  steps  where  the  auctioneer 
stood. 

"  One  thousand  dollars  is  bid,"  said  the  auction- 
eer, reluctantly. 

I  looked  at  Colonel  Wimpleton,  who  stood  near 
me.  His  face  was  red,  and  his  portly  frame  quaked 
with  angry  emotions.  My  father's  property  in  the 
house  was  saved.  We  looked  at  each  other,  and 
smiled  our  gratitude. 

"  Toppleton  must  not  have  the  property,"  said 
Colonel  Wimpleton  to  his  lawyer,  who  stood  next 
to    him,  while  his    teeth    actually  grated   with    the 


296  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT,   OB 

savage  ire  which  shook  his  frame.  "  He  will  put  a 
nuisance  under  my  very  nose.  Eleven  hundred," 
gasped  the  great  man  of  Centreport,  with  frantic 
energy ;  and  he  was  so  furious  at  the  interference 
of  the  major  that  I  do  not  think  he  knew  what  he 
was  about. 

"Twelve  hundred,"  added  Major  Toppleton,  qui- 
etly, now  that  this  bid  had  been  taken. 

"Thirteen,"  hoarsely  called  the  colonel. 

"  Fourteen." 

"  Fifteen." 

The  crowd  stood  with  their  mouths  wide  open, 
waiting  the  issue  with  breathless  eagerness.  The 
auctioneer  repeated  the  bids,  as  he  would  have  pro- 
nounced the  successive  sentences  of  his  own  death 
warrant.  Colonel  Wimpleton  had  by  this  time  for- 
gotten all  about  my  father,  and  was  intent  only  on 
preventing  his   great  enemy  from  buying  the  estate. 

"  Sixteen,"  said  the  major,  who,  seeing  the  torture 
he  was  inflicting  uj)on  his  malignant  rival,  was  in 
excellent  humor. 

"Seventeen,"  promptly  responded  Colonel  Wim- 
pleton. 


THE   YOUNG   ENGINEER.  297 

"Eighteen." 

"Nineteen,"  gasped  the  colonel. 

"Two  thousand." 

"  Twenty-one  hundred,"  roared  the  colonel,  des^ 
perately. 

"Twenty-two,"  laughed  the  major. 

The  colonel  was  listening  to  the  remonstrance 
of  his  lawyer,  and  the  auctioneer  was  permitted  to 
dwell  on  the  last  bid  for  a  moment. 

"  Twenty-three  ! "  shouted  the  colonel. 

"  Twenty-three  hundred  dollars  —  twenty-three, 
twenty-three,  twenty-three,"  chipped  the  auctioneer, 
with  professional  formality,  when  the  major  did  not 
instantly  follow  the  last  bid.  "Going  at  twenty- 
three  hundred  !     Are  you  all  done  ?  " 

"Knock  it  off!"  growled  the  colonel,  savagely, 
but  in  a  low  tone. 

"Going  at  twenty-three  hundred — one — two  — 
three  —  and  gone,  to  Colonel  Wimpleton,  at  twenty- 
three  hundred,"  added  the  auctioneer,  as  he  brought 
down  his  hammer  for  the  last  time. 

"  Pretty  well  sold,  after  all,"  said  the  major  to  me, 
as  he  rubbed  his  hands. 


298  THROUGH  BY  DAYLIGHT,  OR 

"Yes,  sir;  thanks  to  you,  it  is  very  well  sold,"  I 
replied,  running  over  with  joy  at  the  unexpected 
termination  of  the  farce. 

Colonel  Wimpleton  swore  like  a  pirate.  He  was 
the  maddest  man  on  the  western    continent. 

"  Colonel,  if  you  are  dissatisfied  with  your  bargain, 
I  shall  be  happy  to  take  the  property  at  my  last 
bid,"  said  the  major,  as  he  walked  out  into  the 
road. 

I  will  not  repeat  what  the  great  man  of  Centre- 
port  said  in  reply,  for  it  was  not  fit  to  be  set  down 
on  clean  white  paper.  My  father  and  I  crossed  the 
lake,  and  went  home  with  the  good  news  to  my 
mother,  who  was  anxiously  waiting  to  hear  the  re- 
sult. Whatever  joy  she  experienced  at  the  good 
fortune  of  my  father,  she  was  too  good  a  woman  to 
exult  over  the  quarrels  of  the  two  great  men. 

"  I  think  Colonel  Wimpleton  will  not  try  to  pun- 
ish me  any  more,"  said  my  father.  "  He  pays  eight 
hundred  dollars  more  than  I  was  offered  for  the 
place.     If  he  is  satisfied,  I   am." 

The  next  day  the  twenty-three  hundred  dollars, 
less   the   expenses  of  the  sale,  was  paid  over  to  my 


THE  YOUNG   ENGINEER.  299 

father.  He  had  already  cast  longing  eyes  upon  a 
beautiful  estate  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  of  Micl- 
dleport,  having  ten  acres  of  land,  with  a  fine  orchard  ; 
but  the  owner  would  not  sell  it  for  less  than  five 
thousand  dollars.  The  fruit  upon  the  place  would 
more  than  pay  the  interest  of  the  money;  and,  as 
soon  as  he  had  received  the  proceeds  of  the  sale, 
he  bought  the  estate,  paying  two  thousand  down,  and 
giving  a  mortgage  for  three  thousand.  We  moved 
in  immediately.  The  house  was  even  better  than 
that  we  had  occupied  in  Centreport,  and  I  assure 
the  reader,  in  concluding  my  story,  that  we  were  as 
happy  as  any  family  need  be  left  at  the  end  of  a  last 
chapter. 

Of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  I  have  much  more 
to  say,  in  other  stories  which  will  follow.  The  road 
was  soon  completed  to  Grass  Springs,  thirteen  miles 
from  Middleport,  and  I  ran  the  dummy  to  that 
point  during  the  autumn.  In  due  time  we  had  a 
regular  locomotive  and  cars,  and  ran  to  Ucayga, 
where  we  connected  with  a  great  line  of  railway 
between  the  east  and  the  west.  We  had  a  great 
deal   of   trouble   with   the   Wimpletonians,    and    the 


300  THROUGH   BY   DAYLIGHT. 

Centreporters  generally,  of  which  something  will  be 
said  in  ray  next  story  — "  Lightnlng  Express,  or 
The  Rival  Academies." 

The  Toppletonians  continued  to  treat  me  very 
Bndly,  and  I  did  my  best  for  them.  Our  family 
troubles  appeared  to  be  all  ended.  My  father  was 
as  steady  as  he  had  ever  been,  and  though  we 
heard  nothing  from  Christy,  we  were  on  the  high 
road  to  prosperity.  Miss  Grace  Toppleton  was  fre- 
quently a  passenger  in  the  dummy,  and  I  must  add 
that  she  was  always  very  kind  and  considerate  to 
me.  I  am  sure  her  smile  encouraged  me  to  be 
good  and  true,  and  to  be  faithful  in  the  discharge 
of  my  duty;  or,  in  other  words,  to  put  it  Through 
by  Daylight. 


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The  stories  in  the  "  Woodville  "  series  are  hinged  together  only  so  far  as 

the  same  characters  have  been  retained  in  each. 

Sold  by  all  booksellers,  and  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


REV.   ELIJAH   KELLOGG'S 

ELM  ISLAND  STORIES. 

Six  vols.    16mo.    Illustrated.    Per  vol.,  $1.25. 

1.  Lion  Ben  of  Elm  Island. 

2.  Charlie  Bell. 

3.  The  Ark  of  Elm  Island. 

4.  The  Boy  Farmers  of  Elm 

Island. 

5.  The  Young  Shipbuilders  of 

Elm  Island. 

6.  The  Hardscrabble  of  Elm 

Island. 

"There  is  no  sentimentalism  in  this  series. 
It  is  all  downright  matter-of-fact  boy  life,  and 
of  course  they  are  deeply  interested  in  read- 
ing it.  The  history  of  pioneer  life  is  so 
attractive  that  one  involuntarily  wishes  to 
renew  those  early  struggles  with  adverse 
circumstances,  and  join  the  busy  actors  in 
their  successful  efforts  to  build  up  pleasant 
homes  on  our  sea-girt  islands."  —  Zion's 
Herald. 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


Illustrated  Natural  History, 

YOUNG  HUNTER'S  LIBRARY. 

By  MBS.  R.  LEE.     Four  volumes.      Illustrated. 
Per  vol.,  $1.50. 

The  Australian  "Wanderers. 

The  Adventures  of  Captain  Spencer  and 
his  Horse  aud  Dog  in  the  Wilds  of  Aus- 
tralia. 

The  African  Crusoes. 

The  Adventures  of  Carlos  and  Antonio 
in  the  Wilds  of  Africa. 

Anecdotes  of  Animals, 

With  their  Habits,  Instincts,  &c,  &c. 

Anecdotes  of  Birds,  Fishes,  Rep- 
tiles, &c,  their  Habits  and  Instincts. 

This  is  a  very  popular  series,  prepared  for 
the  purpose  of  interesting  the  young  in  the 
study  of  natural  history.  The  exciting  ad- 
ventures of  celebrated  travellers,  anecdotes 
of  sagacity  in  birds,  beasts,  &c  ,  have  been 
interwoven  in  a  pleasant  manner.  This  se- 
ries is  not  only  very  interesting  but  is  deci- 
dedly profitable  reading. 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


Wonderful  Stories. 

JUTLAND  SERIES. 

Four  vols.   Illustrated.    Set  in  a  neat  box,  or  sold 
separate.    Per  vol.,  $1.50. 

The  Sand  Hills  of  Jutland. 

By  Hans   Christian  Andersen.      i6mo. 
Illustrated. 

Yarns  of  an  Old  Mariner. 

By  Mrs.   Mary  Cowden  Clarke.     Illus- 
trated by  Cruikshank.   i6mo. 

Schoolboy  Days. 

By  W.  H.  G.   Kingston.      i6mo.      Six- 
teen illustrations. 

Great  Men  and  Gallant  Deeds. 

By  J.  G.  Edgar.     i6mo.     Illustrated. 

Four  books  by  four  noted  authors  comprise 
this  series,  which  contains  Adventures  by  Sea 
and  Land,  Manly  Sports  of  England,  Boy 
Life  in  English  Schools,  Fairy  Tales  and 
Legends,  —  all  handsomely  illustrated. 


The   Great   West. 

THE  FRONTIER  SERIES 

Five  vols.    Illustrated.    Per  vol.,  $1.25. 

Twelve  Wights  in   the   Hunters' 

Camp. 
A  Thousand  Miles'  "Walk  Across 

South  America. 

The  Cabin  on  the  Prairie. 

Planting  the  "Wilderness. 

The  Young  Pioneers. 

The  romance  surrounding  the  adventurous 
lives  of  Western  piovjeers  and  immigrants 
has  suggested  nearly  as  many  stories  as  the 
chivalric  deeds  of  knight-errantry.  These 
tales  of  frontier  life  are,  however,  as  a  rule, 
characterized  by  such  wildness  of  fancy  and 
such  extravagancy  of  language  that  we  have 
often  wondered  why  another  Cervantes  did 
not  ridicule  our  border  romances  by  describ- 
ing a  second  Don  Quixote's  adventures  on 
the  prairies.  We  are  pleased  to  notice,  that 
in  the  new  series  of  Frontier  Tales,  by  Lee 
&  Shepard,  there  is  an  agreeable  absence  of 
sensational  writing,  of  that  maudlin  senti- 
mentality which  make  the  generality  of  such 
tales  nauseous. "  —  Standard. 


LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston.    LEE  &  SHEPARD,   Publishers,  Boston. 


*oQX\£ 

MAY    MANNERING  S  (O 

HELPING  HAND  SERIES. 

Six  volumes.    Illustrated    Per  volume,  $1. 

Climbing  the   Rope. 

Billy  Grimes's   Favorite. 

The  Cruise  of  the  Dasha- 
way. 

The    Little   Spaniard. 

Salt  "Water  Dick. 

Little   Maid   of  Oxbow. 

'"May  Mannering'  is  the  nom  de  plume  of  an 
agreeable  writer  fur  the  young  folks  who  possesses 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  and  has  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  way  to  luterest  children."  — 
Philadelphia  Item. 

"We  like  the  spirit  of  these  bookj  exceedingly, 
and  cordially  commend  it  to  the  notice  of  Sabbath 
School  Libraries."  —  Ladies'  Repository. 

LEE  &  SHEPARQ,  Publishers,  Boston. 


^X9<^ 

MISS   LOUISE   M.    THURSTON  S 

CHARLEY  ROBERTS  SERIES. 

To  be  completed  in  six  vols.     Illustrated. 
Per  volume,  #i. 

How  Charley  Roberts  Be- 
came a  JMan. 

How  Eva  Roberta  Grained 
Her  Ulduoution. 

Charley    and    EJva's    Home 
in  the   West. 

(Others  in  Preparation.) 

In  presenting  the  above  new  series  the  publish- 
ers believe  that  they  are  adding  to  that  class  of 
juvenile  literature  whose  intrinsic  worth  is  recog- 
nized by  those  who  have  at  heart  the  good  of  the 
young. 

"They  are  pleasantly  written  books,  descriptive 
of  the  struggles  and  difficulties  of  Charley  and 
Eva  in  attaining  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
and  they  are  well  adapted  to  stimulate  a  noble 
ambition  in  the  hearts  of  young  persona." 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


"UaruU  anti  attracttie." 

VACATION  STORY-BOOKS. 

Six  vols.     Ulust.     Per  vol.,  80  cts. 

"Worth  not  "Wealth. 

Country  Life. 

The  Charm. 

Karl  Keigler. 

Walter  Seyton. 

Holidays  at  Chestnut  Hill. 


ROSY  DIAMOND  STORY-BOOKS. 

Six  volumes.     Illustrated.     Per  vol.,  80  cts. 

The  Great  Rosy  Diamond. 
Daisy,  or  The  Fairy  Spectacles. 
"Violet,  a  Fairy  Story. 
Minnie,  or  The  Little  Woman. 
The  Angel  Children. 
Little  Blossom's  Reward. 

These  are  delightful  works  for  children.  They 
are  all  very  popular,  and  have  had  a  wide  circula- 
tion. They  are  now  presented  in  a  new  dress. 
The  stories  are  all  amusing  and  instructive,  ex- 
hibiting human  nature  in  children,  and  teaching 

some  very  important  practical  lessons. 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


"  jTasscinating  anti  Instrudifae." 

THE  PROVERB   SERIES. 

By  Mr9.  M.  E.  Bradley  and  Miss 
Katk  J.  Nekly. 

Sue  vols.     Illust    Per  voL,  $t. 

Birds  of  a  Feather. 

Fine  Feathers  do  Not  make  Fine 
Birds. 

Handsome  is  that  Handsome  does. 

A  "Wrong  Confessed  is  half  He- 
dressed. 

Actions  speak  louder  than  Words. 

One  Good  Turn  deserves  another. 

"  Each  volume  is  complete  in  itself,  and  illus- 
trates, with  a  story  of  most  fascinating  and  in- 
structive interest,  the  proverb  taken  for  its  title. 
These  are  just  the  kind  of  books  that  we  like  to 
see  in  a  family  or  Sunday-school  library.  They 
will  be  read  by  persons  of  all  ages  with  deep 
interest,  and  afford  instructive  and  entertaining 
conversation  with  the  children."— S.  S.  Journal. 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


